Spirited Away: Wind and Sand
by DDragonWhisper
Summary: A girl from our world awakens in Suna, but her arrival causes suspicion. She has to be watched constantly, but due to her 'odd nature' she is hunted down by various people. She soon finds out how dangerous the ninja world can be. Gaara x OC
1. Chapter 1: A New Reality

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

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><p><em>Summary: A girl from our world awakens to finds herself in Suna, but her arrival causes suspicion. She has to we watched constantly, but due to her 'odd nature' she is hunted down by various people. She soon finds out how dangerous the ninja world can be.<em>

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><p><em>Main Character Description:<em>

Name: Aura  
><span>Age:<span> 17  
><span>Height:<span> 5'1"  
><span>Eye color:<span> Green  
><span>Hair color:<span> Medium Brown  
><span>Blood Type:<span> B  
><span>Body Type:<span> Slender type (non-athletic)  
><span>Birthday:<span> February 9th  
><span>Appearance:<span> Layered hair, bottom layer is just past the shoulders, side bangs. Clothes vary, especially throughout the story, but normally wears a tank top with a longer shirt over it and Capri type pants in the summer with sandals.

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><p><em>Setting:<em> This takes place 2 or 3 years after the Shinobi War Arc and starts in Suna.

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><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Thank you for clicking on my story! Okay, first of all I really wanted to make a story about Gaara and I really wanted to make one that seemed somewhat realistic. (Although how realistic you can get with a fictional story is questionable I'm sure.) On that note I really wanted to make a situation that seemed like it might actually happen and find a way to keep the story interesting so that the whole thing isn't just a love story but something a little more. I am also a little sorry about this first chapter since I tried to make it interesting while giving you something to go off of so you know what is going on as I continue through the story. I would also like to comment on names and honorifics and things like that, because of the translation from Japanese to English and due to it being a manga and an anime there are some differences in events, names and titles. One example being "Gaara of the Sand" and "Gaara of the Desert," so I would like to say, if I switch between them or leave out certain events or have some different information about something, it's all because of these differences in where the information came from, although I tried to cover them all. Anyway, please enjoy!

_Also, p_lease thank __nicetsukichi at deviantART__ for making the beautiful cover art for this story! Her art was well worth the cost and is available for full view from the links on my profile as well as a few sketches. All credit to the fantastic art goes to nicetsukichi, original character design credit goes to me of course.__

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: A New Reality<strong>

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><p>I gasped and jolted up as I watched a bright fog-like light dissipate around me. I looked in all directions to find I was sitting in a sand street at night with many stone type buildings around me. What was this place? Where was I? Some kind of old town? There was nobody around and it seemed quiet except for the wind.<p>

Just as soon as I heard a sound I was surrounded. I tensed as I felt fear make my heart beat faster. These people didn't look friendly. They where all wearing strange clothes and had weapons drawn. Why were they all looking at me? What had I done? I stared at them wide eyed, wondering what was going to happen.

Before I knew it I was being restrained by two people. Being restrained from doing what I don't know but I knew the way they held on to me was painful.

"How did you get into the village? What are you after?" A person questioned me sternly.

I felt he was talking a bit to fast for me. I couldn't even choke out and answer before he asked again in which case I panicked and yelled back at him.

"I don't know! I don't even know where I am!" I had figured out a long time ago that when I get confused, frustrated and scared I get really angry as a form of a defense. At least I think that is the case, either way I have a hard time processing information.

He didn't look moved by what I said, "Bring her to interrogation."

I couldn't understand why they thought I was a threat, the thought of interrogations made my eyes well with tears. I felt overwhelmed with fear. I started to shake as they looked as they were about to move out but I suddenly felt dizzy. I assumed it was from the fact that I had so many different unpleasant emotions running through my head. Although, this was the feeling of an adrenaline rush coming on. I kept thinking that I didn't want to be harmed, I didn't know where I was. I felt the panic rush through me and I took deeper erratic breaths. I couldn't stop staring straight ahead but I couldn't focus on what I was seeing and my ears started to ring horribly.

That's when it happened. I have had adrenaline rushes before and I have to say that they are really strange. It seemed like time had slowed down, every movement and sound was strangely slow. The sickening sound of flesh being pierced and the splatter of blood sounded in my ears muffled by the ringing as I watched the droplets and small streams of red float through the air gently. I wondered what just happened when time began to move normally again. Yells and sounds of sharp attacks came from all around as more blood had been spilt. The people holding me yelled and moved away. I looked around frantic and scared. Everything was so fast I couldn't see what was attacking. People fell to the ground and one person lunged at me. I braced myself and automatically crossed my arms above my head for protection.

I felt something wet splash on me then nothing. I opened my eyes only to see the person that was going to attack me had they're neck sliced open and it spitted out blood. I stared at his confused and pained eyes before he fell forward and I backed away so he wouldn't fall on me. I felt the tears well up and fall down my face as I covered my mouth with my hands staring at the scene around me. Everyone around me was dead. I felt a sick twisting in my stomach and fell to my knees throwing up onto the sand. I stared down at the ground into my own vomit feeling even more sick but noticed the blood running down my arm.

I looked to see where it had come from frantically, but I wasn't wounded. It was the liquid that had splashed on me earlier. Realizing it was someone else's blood I screamed and cried. I backed away into a corner of a building near by as my eyes scanned the area but I couldn't concentrate on what I was seeing with my head feeling so dizzy. My vision was starting to get black spots so I closed my eyes and brought my knees up to my chest and hid my face. Crying because I was scared and confused. I just wanted it to all go away, I wanted everything to go away and disappear. How did I even get here? I don't even remember.

I sobbed and noticed that I heard other sounds so I looked up in fear. I saw more people arrive. They all had strange clothes on as well. I pressed my back against the wall behind me and felt my panic rise up in me stronger than before.

The people looked around and someone commented, "What happened?"

A person with one of their eyes covered commented, "That girl and . . . that chakra."

Everyone was staring at me. I gasped in fear as I noticed I was being looked at strangely. Was it fear I saw in their eyes? Of me?

Someone shifted and was about to attack me but someone said, "Stop."

I looked at that person who stopped him and he seemed to be kind of young. Dark coloring around his eyes and reddish hair. Although he was young, he seemed to be their leader considering his position amongst them.

The others looked confused but this leader they had just kept staring at me and I couldn't help but stare back. He took a step forward and a loud noise erupted, I screamed and dug my head in my knees again. This time I didn't hear anyone getting hurt. I looked up to see a wall of sand that was being hit with invisible attacks. I watched in wonder as sand moved around on it's own to defend against attacks I couldn't see. Who was this person?

The attacks soon calmed and so did I then it was just him standing there. Where had those attacks come from in the first place? He walked forward again. A few people moved as if to stop him but then stopped as if deciding against it. He stopped right in front of me and I stared up at him wondering what he was going to do.

He then leaned over and extended his hand to me and said, "You don't have to be afraid, no one is going to hurt you."

I looked at his eyes and then his hand. He seemed sincere enough, but could I really trust him?

I moved my hand cautiously toward his, which actually made the other people tense. I then gingerly took his hand as he helped me up. I actually felt a bit better knowing that at least this person was being nice to me. Once I was standing he let go.

"I'm sorry, but under the circumstances you are going to be under close surveillance, but I can promise that you won't be harmed," he said to me before turning to his subordinates.

"Escort her to a holding room, until we find out what happened here. There will be no hostility toward her," he stated before walking past them and examined the area.

Two people had come over to me and I felt a little uneasy but I they only asked me to follow them. I walked away from the scene still in a daze of what happened. It all happened so suddenly that it felt like a very bad dream. I didn't even understand what was going on around me. After all of that excitement I finally felt safe and relaxed but as soon as I relaxed my limbs felt heavy and my vision was spotted. I then fell to the ground and into the darkness.

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><p>A man spoke softly and urgently to the reddish haired boy, "Kazekage-sama, do you think it is wise to just let that girl be put in a holding room? Wouldn't a more guarded room be better? Look what has happened here, not to mention her chakra levels."<p>

"She was scared," he said before turning his gaze toward the man, "When I had approached her she didn't make any aggressive movements and her chakra levels didn't change. If there is anything behind the attacks it is most likely an outside force."

"Even if it wasn't her it is still questionable as to how she got into the middle of the village without detection."

"Kazekage-sama!" a man yelled who was examining the bodies.

The boy swiftly went over to see what was wrong.

"These wounds were caused by multiple small deep pierces in the body. It looks like it was caused by a wind element weapon."

The young Kazekage looked down at the mutilated form of the sand ninja. With no other intruders detected in the area and no chakra expended from the girl, how could a wind element attack be used?

This was going to be a perplexing investigation for Sunakagure.

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><p>I opened my eyes sleepily, thinking that my room smelled kind of different then remembered. I shot up in a plain bed in a room with one window and bars on it. I got up and rushed to the door to find it locked, I panicked and banged the door with my fist calling out. For some reason I didn't like being stuck in small places. Maybe it was a form of claustrophobia but knowing I didn't have an exit always unnerved me in some way.<p>

A woman had come and opened the door and looked at me as if I was crazy, "What is it?"

I felt a little embarrassed at how I just acted but then responded, "I have to go to the bathroom."

She looked a little annoyed but told me to follow her and I found that I was in a very hot and dry place although inside the building was a bit more cool than outside. Whenever I passed a window I could feel the heat from the sun. All the walls were made of some stone and most of the windows were round. I also found that someone had changed my clothes; I was wearing a plain dark brown, almost red, outfit with a white scarf thing around my neck. These kinds of clothes seemed weird and I didn't know what to think of someone I don't know dressing me but I suppose it is better than my blood stained ones from last night. At the thought of last night I could only remember vague parts of it, since it still all seemed like a hazy dream.

The bathrooms themselves weren't to my liking either, they seemed so dirty but so did most things. It must have been the thin layer of sand that covered the ground. I finished and after washing my hands I exited the bathroom only to find a man was talking to the woman that lead me here. He had some kind of cloth thing over his head that hung down around the sides and his short brown hair showed a little in the front. His face had a scar right below his left eye and two red make up markings on each cheek. His expression was tough and he also wore a strange vest thing, but so did many of the people I saw. It must have been some kind of uniform.

He then turned to me when I approached, "Good thing you are awake, please follow me."

I was doing a lot of following lately it seemed but I didn't like the looks of where he brought me. The room we entered was like a science lab. I started to get that panicked feeling that they were going to experiment on me and started picturing gruesome images in my head. He then turned me other to a person working there.

He smiled and seemed friendly so I forced a smile back.

"It's alright, we are going to do some simple tests okay? So no need to worry," he assured me.

Apparently the nervousness was written all over my face.

"Okay," I answered softly.

This man seemed a very pleasant. He wasn't wearing anything on his head which showed his straight short strawberry blonde hair. His clothes were more like a lab coat and his expression were very warm. Being around this person I felt very calm.

The tests done on me were a little different than I was used to. Some of them involved metal sticks that touched my forehead and other points on my body, holding a piece of paper, and eye tests. I admit they weren't difficult but I really do hate needles. When he took my blood I nearly felt like fainting.

"Alright, we're all done," he smiled at me.

He seemed like a very nice guy, and he was calm and level with me all through the tests, so I sincerely smiled back at him but didn't know what to say.

"Wait here for a minute," he told me before getting up and taking the papers of data he had with him to another room.

I sat there looking around, everything seemed quite odd. There were even charts to show a system I wasn't sure of. Chakra system? Was this some kind of natural healers or something?

I heard two people walking toward my room talking, I just caught the last part of their conversations, "-the test results should be done by this afternoon."

The doctor, or at least I assumed he was a doctor, that did the tests with me and some the person who led me here originally came in.

"Alright, if you follow my friend here, he is going to take you to do the mind test," the doctor said calmly.

The man I had to follow didn't seem to have such a nice expression as the doctor. As I followed him to a room with some strange mechanical devices, I felt a little concerned as to what the test was like.

"Would you please sit here," he motioned toward a chair with some devices and large wires coming out from it.

I must have looked reluctant because he reassured me that it wouldn't hurt. I sat down on the large chair as he started hooking some things on me.

"Ummm . . . are you sure it wouldn't hurt?" I questioned as I started to sweat from nervousness.

"We haven't done this on many conscious subjects but as long as you don't resist it shouldn't hurt," he said without looking at me but at the things he was hooking up.

This only made me freak out more, what was this thing really suppose to do?

"Okay," he said once he was done, "Just relax."

I took in a couple deep breaths.

"Just close your eyes and think of something calm, maybe something in your past," he said while watching me.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something that calmed me. I began to think of the time when I went on a family vacation. I was very young so I don't even remember where it was, but it was on the way to our destination. We had stopped in this field-like place at an ice cream shop. The sun was shinning bright and as far as the eye could see was rolling dark green grass with some dark green bushy trees in between each large field. I was eating a light blue ice cream and enjoying the warm breeze. It seemed like such a perfect moment with my family.

I felt a hand on my head and my mind went fuzzy, it seemed like images and words of things in my past started running through my mind at rapid speeds. Although it wasn't like I was looking through them myself but someone else was. I felt myself falling asleep or actually loosing consciousness and before I knew it I was out.

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><p>The man shuffled through images from the girl's past but he flinched in surprise as he realized that this girl had not lived in a world they did. Her schooling, her daily life, the technology; everything was different.<p>

He stared down at the unconscious girl's serene sleeping face wondering where and when she had come from. Who was this girl and how did she get here? He saw the images of what happened the night their ninja comrades where killed. It was true that she had no idea even of what was going on, but was strange is that there was a gap between when she arrived in Suna and her previous day. He then tried to dig into this blank spot but suddenly a bright light shone and he was hurled out of her consciousness and backward onto the floor with a gash on his hand.

Other people that were around working on the machines turned to look at the scene in shock and a couple people went over to help him up.

"Are you alright Takan?" he felt a fatigue in his head from trying to access that part of her mind but got up and brushed it off.

"It's fine," he responded to the person and looked at the cut on his hand.

Normally an attack in the mind wouldn't have much effect in the physical world but . . . what was she?

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><p>I awoke back in my room but again I didn't know how I got there. The test wasn't so bad I guess since I didn't remember anything that happened, it was just like falling asleep.<p>

"Finally you're awake," I jumped when I heard a voice from nowhere.

When I looked around nervously I noticed that there was someone sitting on the window sill in front of the bars. He had a hood with ear-like parts that poked up and red markings on his face. The rest of his outfit was black with something red tied around his waist.

He gave a sort of sigh and he got up and walked toward me, "I thought I'd have to wake you up myself."

He stopped and scanned me then smirked, "Pft, Hard to believe someone that looks so ordinary could be an alien."

"Alien?" I questioned suspiciously.

"Never mind, I have to bring you to the Kazekage," he dismissed my question with a wave and a smile I can only describe as cocky and annoying as he walked toward the door and opened it.

"You coming or not alien?" he asked as if he was bored already.

For some reason all I could do was scowl at him. I couldn't say exactly what it was but I'd have to say that his attitude or way of speaking just didn't seem to rub me the right way. I then followed another person I don't know but unlike those other times I wasn't so okay with following this strange person.

After walking up a bunch of steps we arrived at a normal looking door where the person I was following opened it. I was amazed at seeing a large office and round windows behind a desk where the boy with reddish hair was sitting. Before in the dark I couldn't see him as well as I could now. I thought the lighting was making his eyes look dark but there was actually dark markings around his eyes. The doctor and other man from before were in the office talking to him but they stopped as soon as I entered the room.

I froze as everyone turned their attention toward me. I felt immediately awkward and adverted my eyes from anyone's gaze.

"Don't be shy, come over here," the doctor said as he smiled at me.

I smiled nervously back and walked over to the front of the desk.

It's then that the other person turned his attention toward the boy behind the desk, "This is the girl, the one that we believe is from another world."

My breath stopped and my heart skipped a beat as something fluttered away in my stomach. I looked more closely at the boy in front of me and saw the character for love on this forehead. The blood seemed like it was draining out of me as I looked into familiar sky blue-green eyes. I didn't notice it before, but I knew this place and these people. This was the world of Naruto, the village of Sunagakure and this was Gaara. This was Gaara of the Desert.

"When looking into her memories I noticed that there were inconsistencies with the reality we know, the maps of the world, the technology and even more disturbing is the fact that there were records of our world there," the man said to Gaara.

Gaara . . . how could this be Gaara? Unlike the manga and shows I saw of him and this place, everything was real. Every independently moving strand of his hair, the complexion of his skin, the gentle rise and fall of breathing, every small flick of movement when he blinked. Everything was real, the feel of the dry air, the sandy floor, even the smell of different people. I was experiencing it all with every sense. This was all too detailed to be considered fake.

"Although it is uncertain whether she is responsible for the deaths of last night, it is still questionable how she got here in the first place. When searching through her mind I was blocked from accessing anything about her arrival in Sunakagure," he went on but I was slowly fading out.

How could this be real? I started to hyperventilate. Was I dead? Was this all a weird dream? How can a fictional story exist? Did my world really exist before? Do I even exist now? The room felt like it was closing in on me.

"Are you alright?" the doctor seemed to notice my inner turmoil as he placed a hand on my back.

It seemed like the air was thin and I couldn't breath but as the doctor started to rub my back a bit it soothed me and I lost the feeling like I was going to implode in on myself. I noticed everyone was staring at me again in silence probably wondering what was going on.

I forced a smile and spoke quietly, "Another world?"

I couldn't help feeling like I had been too quiet for too long now so raised my voice, "How could I be from another world? Where I come from this is all fiction. This doesn't exist, none of it does."

I looked around at everyone, they all seemed surprised that I could say so much. I then looked away from their eyes.

"But if that is so, and none of this exists, do I really exist? Am I existing now? I don't know what to think and I don't know where to go or what to do. All that I've done since I got here was get passed around but no one has even asked me what was going on. I understand that you might not trust me but," I looked at Gaara who seemed to be watching me with that same unchanging gaze he had, "if I truly am from another world like you say, then I mean no harm. All I want is to go home if at all possible. Maybe I could even help if I can at all. I don't wish to intrude or become a problem."

I felt a little uneasy by what I said, I hoped I wasn't too out of line but then I heard Gaara ask, "What is your name?"

I smiled a little knowing I didn't offend anyone, "Aura."

"Nice to meet you," the doctor turned to greet me suddenly, "My name is Laku."

"Nice to meet you too," I shook his hand as we greeted each other warmly.

I really liked this doctor, he was one of the most friendly people I've met since I got here.

I then looked over at the other man who looked back with an unchanging suspicious expression and simply said, "Takan."

I smiled at him then looked back at the person who led me here.

He just crossed his arms and gave that same cocky smile as before, "Kankuro."

I then looked back to Gaara who said in the same cool level voice, "Gaara."

I gave him a gentle smile, "Nice to meet you Gaara."

I must have been looking at him strangely or said his name in a weird way because Kankuro commented barely audible under his breath, "Looks like there will be another one after Gaara."

I flinched when I heard that. What did he mean by that? I just met Gaara, how could he say I would be after him. I could tell that Kankuro was really going to get on my nerves.

Gaara then spoke to me as if he didn't hear his brother's comment, "If you really understand that we can't trust you then you would know that we can't let you roam free. Even if you mean no harm, the fact that you know too much about this place makes it dangerous for you to leave. Even with the ninja alliance, if you were to get into the wrong hands it would compromise the safety of this village."

I felt a little distressed but knowing I wasn't going to be killed or anything was enough relief for me at this point, "Alright, I understand."

"Kankuro," he said looking over at his brother.

"Yeah," he responded then looked at me, "Come on Aura."

He walked toward the door and stopped as I was stuck staring at Gaara for a while. He seemed to mesmerize me and I was reluctant to leave. I thought this might be a little awkward if it went on to long and broke my gaze on him and turned to leave following Kankuro out.

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><p>"You seem to have forgotten to mention her chakra levels when explaining reasons why we couldn't let her leave Kazekage-sama," Laku said after the two had left.<p>

"From what I've seen in her mind, she is unaware she even has chakra," Takan responded although it wasn't directed at him.

"But it is odd isn't it," Laku still was addressing Gaara, "Although her own chakra is normal she absorbs and emanates large amounts of natural energy. Without even knowing it she is capable of producing nearly an endless amount of chakra. Usually natural energy is difficult to control in a normal human body, but this girl may really be an entity from another world. Even more so, her chakra has a high level wind element. If she knew how to use her chakra she could be capable of unimaginable wind power."

Gaara looked at him unchanging.

"Are you suggesting we use her as a weapon?" Takan glared at Laku.

He simply brushed it off and waved a hand, "Oh no no, I'm suggesting we teach her how to utilize her unique chakra considering it is dangerous when left alone."

"What are you saying?" Takan said defensively.

"You know exactly what I am saying," Laku responded with a level expression, still refusing to look at Takan but rather at Gaara who's expression changed to more of a glare.

Laku continued knowing everyone was on the same page, "All of the ninjas that were killed had injuries made from highly advanced wind element attacks. She was the only one there and coincidentally has highly advanced amounts of wind element chakra. So it is likely that, whether intentional or unintentional, she is the one who killed our comrades."

Gaara and Takan both looked upset that Laku put that accusation out there.

"So what do you suggest Laku? Who would be the one to train someone like that if she has such a high level of wind chakra? If what you say is true then it would be dangerous to even bring out the element let alone control it," Takan criticized.

"Well," Laku smirked, "Being a master of wind element myself I would-"

"I will look after training her," Gaara interrupted calmly.

Both Laku and Takan looked at him with surprise.

"But Kazekage-sama, training her would be a risk we of the village wouldn't want to put on our Kazekage," Takan spoke with concern.

"My sand will protect me. I rather not have the risk of anyone else in the village meeting the same fate as the those last night," Gaara said calmly to Takan.

They both looked as if they apposed but both nodded and responded together, "Yes Kazekage-sama."

"You're both dismissed," Gaara said as they both disappeared.

Gaara got up from his desk and noticed a sound from behind him. He turned to see a sandstorm brewing outside. Wisps of sand hurled horizontally across the window, over buildings and through the streets. He seemed to be contemplating something while watching the sand dance furious in the wind.

"Kazekage-sama," someone came in the room interrupting the silence as well as his thoughts.

Without turning his head he looked to the side at whoever entered. He would have to complete his thoughts some other time.

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><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Thanks for reading! Also I'd like to clear up that before Aura came in to the office they were discussing quite a bit of things about her and other events although I left them out. I felt it would make the chapter too long and it was a little more than unnecessary. So just to tell you that there was a lot going on without Aura's awareness of it although I covered a few parts that were important. I also would like to say that Aura and Gaara kind of rhyme and I did not try to do that, but I thought it was kind of funny so I left it that way. I could explain a lot that happened in this chapter, cause I have a reason that I thought out for everyone's actions and I packed a lot into this chapter so hopefully the reason behind the actions are clear. Especially Gaara's actions, he is looking out for the people of his village so his actions are primarily driven by that. I'm looking forward to writing Gaara and Aura together more so people can find out more about the main character's personality and there will actually be deeper interactions. See you next chapter!

Some links to some images that relate to this story: I posted some links to pics of a real-looking Gaara on my profile so you can access them from there if you like along with the link to the cover art made by nicetsukichi (from deviantART) and some concept art by her as well.


	2. Chapter 2: The Life of a Shinobi

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

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><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Okay, I have to admit that this chapter was rather quickly written and I normally don't get chapters out this fast. (Even if I would like to get chapters out this fast.) I had really made another serious kind of chapter, but I still like the content because it is essential main character development for the rest of the story. I am also happy to announce that there is more of Gaara in this chapter and he . . . kind of talks. Well what do you expect from Gaara, he only seems to talk more to people he knows like his siblings. Also, I am excited about my ideas for the next chapter, they are actually less serious since I got most of the serious things out in this and the first chapter. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Life of a Shinobi<strong>

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><p>The next day I woke up realizing that I hadn't eaten much since yesterday. It wasn't that they didn't offer me anything but that the food seemed really odd to me. I mean, desert food is nothing you would expect, I had something with lizard in it. I guess it wasn't that awful but the thought of it made me feel sick. This morning I had eaten something with rice and meat. I didn't dare ask what the meat was since I was starving and I really needed to eat something. Surprisingly I found that it wasn't bad but the meat stuff was a little slippery. I heard that they imported some foods like rice and noodles but not too much else since things have to survive a long journey through the desert.<p>

My meals were brought to me which made me feel like I was some kind of prisoner especially when I had bars on my window. After I finished my breakfast I looked out the window to see people in the streets. Some were talking with each other, others looked like they were in a hurry and some kids were even chasing each other. The scene struck me as funny when I thought that I could see this kind of sight on the streets back home. I suddenly felt the weight of concern when I thought of home. What was my family doing now? Were they looking for me? Did I die in that world? What was happening there right now?

I thought of my own bed and the simple problems I dealt with there and of how I missed it already. I was getting so caught up with the problems I was having here that the ones I had before didn't seem like much. It was weird to have to deal with all these things on my own, it was like going away on a trip alone but I didn't know when I was going back. Thinking of it as a trip made it a little easier to bear since I really didn't know if I would actually ever be able to return home. Come to think of it, I didn't know how I got here in the first place.

I tried to go over the last things I remember before coming here. I remember it was Saturday and I was going on a walk with my friends. We were walking along some trails in the woods and we weren't very deep in the woods or anything, it was just up some hills near a road. We stopped and ate some food near the top of a hill and then I don't remember much after that. It starts to get fuzzy, and the next thing I remember I am in the street at night with a light around me.

What happened before that though? I tried to think of it but it just started to give me a headache.

"Hey there alien," I jumped and turned around to see Kankuro at the door.

"I'm not an alien," I glared at him.

"Could have fooled me," he responded but quickly changed the subject, "I'm here to tell you that you're going to start shinobi training today."

This news took me off guard, "What? Why?"

"If you really want help us or be of use then the least you can do is learn what we're about," he said seriously, "But don't think it will be easy, it takes years to learn how to be a true shinobi."

Something didn't seem right, "Why would you train me? Wouldn't it seem like a waste of time, I'm not cut out to be any kind of ninja. I can't hurt anyone and I couldn't possibly," the words got caught in my throat as I thought of that night, "kill anyone."

Kankuro looked away from me and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well."

I couldn't help thinking that this was an odd reaction. It was like he was trying to hide something.

He looked back at me and talked more casually, "Look, it's not like we are going to take you on any missions or anything. This training is strictly so you can protect yourself and know a little more about how things work around here. Understanding the way of a shinobi is understanding this village and its people. You're no use to us confused all the time or dead."

"I guess you're right," I couldn't argue that he had a point but thinking of me fighting someone was ridiculous even if it was self defense.

I mean, I never had to fight anyone in my life and if I had to protect myself from someone that wanted to kill me I didn't know if I could do that. The mere thought of it made my stomach twist.

"You're actual training is going to have to wait until later but until then," he pulled out some papers and books from a pouch he had then held them out to me, "here."

I took them and looked them over for a second, "What are these?"

"Just a few concepts and things you should be familiar with. Takan told me you didn't have any of these things in your world. I thought they would help you understand things here a littler better. It's just a few basic things."

"A few basic things?" I looked at him like he was crazy, "This stack is three inches thick at least!"

He gave me an agitated expression, "I didn't know what you knew or not but if you want to be a clueless puppy then don't read them."

I knew he was going to get on my nerves but I decided to be nice, "Thank you."

I turned my back to him then walked over and put them on the small table in my room.

I heard him go, "Hmph, women," before he walked over to the door.

I opened one of the books and pretended I didn't hear that.

Just before he closed the door he commented, "Oh yeah, by the way, the one training you is Gaara."

He then closed the door at the same time I dropped the book on the desk. Gaara was going to train me?

* * *

><p>The reading was actually more enjoyable than I thought. It must have been because every concept seemed like something I couldn't wait to try. Although, I knew in my heart that I still didn't believe these things existed. I know I had doubts about if I could even do any of these things. How could I gather chakra? I didn't even know if I had chakra. If I did I defiantly didn't feel like I had any.<p>

"Miss Aura," a woman opened my door and I turned around from my desk.

"Would you please stand up for a second," she said holding up a tape measure.

I didn't know what she wanted but decided to stand up anyway.

"No, over here," she said as she got to the middle of the room.

I walked over to her.

"Now hold up your arms," she casually commanded.

I did so but she then straightened my arms a little more then took measurements and even around my waist and other parts of my body.

"Ummmm, what is this for?" I didn't quite get why she was measuring me.

"This is so we can find an outfit to fit you. It's important to have clothes that fit well when you are going to be doing any dangerous activity. You wouldn't want your clothes slowing you down or getting in the way," she explained.

I suppose I had never really thought about these things before. The careful choice of clothing, the education and training these people had to go through. I really wondered what kind of training I was going to be doing with Gaara. Why Gaara of all people? Wasn't he busy with his Kazekage duties?

The woman finished the measurements quickly and smiled.

"Oh I have the perfect outfit in mind for you," she said excitedly before leaving.

I wondered what she might have in mind but before I had time to really think about it in too much detail I saw a familiar face enter.

"Gaara?" I asked in surprise.

There he was, standing in the entrance to my room. For one thing I couldn't believe he actually came to my room to get me.

"Are you ready?" he asked in his same level voice as always.

"Ummm," I looked around kind of foolishly thinking that I might need something but I figured out that I really had nothing of my own here, "I guess I am."

"Come with me," he said as I followed him out the door.

I don't know why I felt so awkward following him around but somehow I felt like I had to say something. The only problem was I didn't know what to say to him at all. I didn't want to mention anything about his past because that probably would be out of line. I sighed as I gave into his silent guidance. Maybe it was better not to say anything.

He lead me to an area just outside of the village with wood posts where he then turned to me. We seemed to stand there for a while as I just stared at him. I wondered if his expression ever really changed.

"Do you know how to summon chakra?" he questioned calmly.

"Well," I felt a little embarrassed, "I read about it but I don't really know how to do that. I don't think I even have chakra."

He didn't say anything to this and kept staring at me. This silence thing was making me nervous. I was about to say something else but suddenly spikes of sand came at me at a high speed. I screamed and closed my eyes, putting up my hands to protect myself. I felt a strong wind sweep from behind me and everything stopped. I opened my eyes to see that the spikes of sand looked like they had been cut. The sand then fell back to the ground leaving me stunned as to what happened. I stared at Gaara wondering if he had done that. He seemed unmoved so it must have been him but why would he attack me?

"Did you feel it?" he asked.

"Huh? Feel what?" I didn't know what he was referring to.

"Your chakra . . . You seem to release it in when threatened," he stated, "Pay attention to the point when your chakra releases."

He lifted his arm as some small groups of sand lifted up with it. With a small movement of his hand the sand turned into needles. I felt my heart skip a beat and my blood seemed to drain out of me. Maybe training with Gaara wasn't such a good thing. With a flick of his hand the needles came at me. I stared stunned at the barrage of sand needles come at me. I then felt it; the feeling I thought to be chakra. It was like a feeling of an electric water flow in my body. The flow exited my body naturally through my palms mostly but seemed to exist randomly on my body. The wind would gusted from behind me and in a blink of an eye the needles were grains of sand again blown upward. The feeling stopped as the sand rained down harmlessly.

He was staring at me and I knew what he was waiting for although I couldn't believe it myself, "I felt it, but I didn't do anything, it just happened on it's own."

"Learning to control your chakra is essential to using ninjutsu," he stated in his level voice, "Concentrate on summoning chakra then focus it to a certain area."

"Alright," I then tried to concentrate on that feeling I had before.

It was hard to find at first it but thinking of that electric smooth flow helped me notice it flowing through my body. I then thought of that flow and moving it to my hands but the best I could do was get the electric flow in an area from my hands to my elbows.

"I think I might have it," I told him.

"Release it," he ordered.

I wasn't sure how to do this so I thought of letting it go but it only dispersed back into my body then I had to focus it again. I got frustrated when trying to release it and flung my arm out. That is when I realized that I released the energy as I felt the energy go hurling in Gaara's direction and I could only watch in helpless disbelief. I was about to yell when a wall of sand deflected the invisible attacks. The wall of sand fell again to the ground.

"The chakra distribution is erratic but practicing letting out a set amount of chakra should be your goal," he commented.

I was jubilant that I was able to get this far but what I didn't know is this was only the beginning and it was going to get a lot harder.

All afternoon I tried to focus chakra at certain levels, but after that I had to concentrate it in smaller and smaller areas, like the palms of my hands and then just at my fingertips. Although the hardest part I found was releasing a constant amount of chakra, especially in a small area. My arms started to feel a bit shaky and tired. Gaara had stepped away for a while, probably for some Kazekage business I'm sure so I kept at it on my own. I still wasn't quite getting it by the time the sun was staring to set and my fatigue in my arms was beginning to turn to pain. I couldn't believe how easy they made this look in the story.

For some reason I couldn't give up even with the pain. If every other ninja could do this then so could I. I didn't want to seem like a weakling in a place full of strong people. I released chakra at the pole once again only to miss. Not only was this hard to do but even my aim was off. I felt a little hopeless and fell to my knees. Who am I kidding? Even if I do master my chakra what good is it going to do? It wasn't like I was going to become a ninja. The determination I had before was fading fast with my frustration.

I stood up and ran at the poll and punched it releasing some chakra as well. The chakra shredded a good chunk out of the poll. Even though it had cushioned my blow a little, the fact that I hit a solid wood poll coursed more pain through my arm.

As the tears welled up in my eyes I yelled what was really bothering me, "Why am I here?"

I knew this was the real question that bothered me deep inside. I missed home and didn't know why I was even here. I must have seemed so weak to these people. What could I really do in this world?

Holding my arm to my chest in pain I tried to stop the tears and wiped them away. I then got up and saw that Gaara was standing at a distance watching me. How long had he been there? I felt embarrassed again in front of him. I looked away and heard him move from far away then all of a sudden he was near. Feeling kind of venerable at the moment I got defensive and backed away when he got near.

I looked at him with what I am sure was a defensive glare but he held out one of his hands. I wasn't sure what he wanted so I stayed still. I felt a gentle pull on my arm and I looked down at it to see swirls of sand nudging my arm forward. So I moved my injured arm toward his where he held it. Only then did I notice that it was bleeding. He pulled out a small vile of something with a cloth and dampened it and rubbed it on the wound. At first I flinched because it hurt, then it felt cool and soothing.

Looking down at my hand he said, "You shouldn't push yourself too much on the first day."

He then put a small wrapping of bandages around it and let go of my hand but I stayed mesmerized. His face still hadn't changed which made me wonder what he was thinking this whole time. It's only at this moment that I realized that I was staring straight into his eyes which made me look away quickly.

"Come with me," he ordered as I looked up again and he was starting to walk away.

I knew that I didn't understand Gaara. He seemed to be honestly concerned and kind but had a strange way of showing it. He led me to a large hall where there were food vendors and it kind of reminded me a small food court at the mall except less flashy. There weren't too many people there but it was still lively enough. There were only about four different places to eat and Gaara had led me to one of them where a man greeted him with some surprise.

"Kazekage-sama, what brings you here today?" The man asked but Gaara then looked at me.

"Are you hungry?" he asked me.

"Oh no I-" but my stomach growled loudly.

What a coincidence.

The man behind the counter laughed, "Hold on."

Gaara sat down and I felt like I should as well. The man had motioned to one of his assistants who started preparing something I couldn't see very well from where I was sitting. After his assistant was done he handed it to the man in front of me who finished it off bye adding a few green things and eggs then offered the bowl to me. I held out my hands but they were shaking a bit from over use. I didn't know if I'd be able to hold the bowl but then Gaara had beat me to it and grabbed the bowl.

"Do you want another one?" the man asked and was about to motion to his assistant but Gaara interrupted.

"No," he then handed the man some money but he refused it.

"Oh no, it's on the house Kazekage-sama," but Gaara continued to stare at him while holding out the money and the man had got nervous and gave in.

"Thank you," he took the money and then Gaara placed the bowl in front of me.

I looked down at it and realized that this was ramen. I then looked back over at Gaara who was just watching me. I couldn't believe that Gaara had bought me ramen. It reminded me of when Naruto would go out and his sensei would buy him raman after training. I didn't know Naruto had that much of an impact on him. Gaara was doing what Naruto's sensei had done for him and it struck me as funny. I couldn't help the big smile creeping onto my face as I let out a little laughter.

"Thank you," I said happily.

I even thought I caught his expression softening a bit as if he was surprised and confused I was so happy about ramen. I then picked up some chopsticks and attempted to eat. I say I attempted since I hadn't used chopsticks much in my life and my hands were still a little shaky. I can say that it must have looked very odd to watch me eat and I know the ramen man was looking at me strangely. Even if I had trouble getting it to my mouth I really did enjoy the flavors.

I looked back over to Gaara to see he was just watching me. I guess he found the way I was eating strange too.

"Ummm," I stopped eating because I felt I needed to say something to break up the stares.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked Gaara.

He kept his cool expression, "No, I'm fine."

"Oh," I said a little disappointed since I had never seen him eat before.

I finished up my ramen and thanked Gaara again. We got up and I followed him once again but this time I tried to stay beside him instead of behind.

I wanted to make a conversation, "So, how was your day?"

Oh yeah, that was a nice question. It seemed kind of cliché but it was all I could think of.

He looked over at me only with his eyes but kept walking, "Fine."

"What did you do today?" I wanted to get more than a few words out of him.

"I can't say," he said looking away again.

"Oh is it confidential or something?" he just kept walking without a word.

"Okay well I know you trained me today and brought me out to eat. What did you do this morning before you came to get me? Anything that you can tell me?" I was determined to get him to talk.

This time he turned his head toward me more, "A funeral."

"I'm sorry," I looked away as things just got awkward again.

A funeral wasn't a good topic to go off of. He really backed this conversation into a corner.

"You're," I looked back at him when I heard his confused sounding voice, "sorry?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. It must be sad to have someone die. Did you know that person well?" I asked with concern.

He seemed thoughtful, "They were shinobi of the Sand."

I had figured that this meant they worked together and there was actually more than one person who died. This information made something tug in the back of my mind. Why did it seem familiar?

I stopped in my tracks, shocked, "Do you mean those people from that night?"

He stopped just ahead of me and half turned to look back at me. He didn't have to say anything for me to know I was right. This made me feel a lot worse about the subject since I had saw most of them die before my eyes.

"They died as shinobi," he simply said.

Was this really all there was to the life of a shinobi? They train and go through all sorts of physical pain and then endure the pain of death all around them. To me the death of those people was a deep blow, even if I didn't know them. Just watching them die made me feel sick and hurt. What kind of world was this?

"Is this all there is to a shinobi's life? Death and pain?" I asked out loud.

It was silent for a while and I felt like what I asked was right and just as I felt my eyes start to sting with tears he said, "No."

I looked up at him perplexed.

He was looking out of one of the windows near him, "A shinobi's life is filled with pain but there is much more."

I watched him in wonder as the last rays of the sunset burned a hard light on him. His red hair and outfit made him look like a bright and gentle flame.

"There is determination, dreams, joy and friends to share them with. The bonds between our comrades and allies allow us to accomplish our goals together. A shinobi lives to protect something important," he said still staring out to the setting sun.

To me he seemed like a beacon of hope. I had only concentrated on the worst sides of the situations I had been in so far, but I failed to see this place and even him for what they really were. Gaara had been through so much more than I ever had and here I was getting emotional over everything. This place was harsh but beyond that rough exterior there was a diamond.

I smiled softly as I felt something warm in my heart. No wonder he was promoted to Kazekage. He looked over at me as the rays of sun started to disappear and gave way to the night but in my mind he was still bright. He then turned and continued to walk onward.

I knew what I had to do now. I had to stop thinking as an outsider and be a part of this world. Even if I missed home I needed to walk onward too. Even if I didn't know my purpose here I would find it. I needed to be strong and start to a live like a true shinobi so that one day I might shine bright too.

I took a deep breath and then stepped forward to follow a beacon of hope.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> I had a hard time writing the last part of this chapter. The emotions and feelings I wanted to get across were hard to write out so I am hoping I don't have to revise this chapter later. Also, you can imagine that this girl really has a tendency for giving up and getting emotional too quick, but I wrote this out to give her a reason to be strong and to work for a purpose. I wanted her to realize that being a shinobi is more that just the fights. She was so used to the simple problems people have here, problems that usually only apply a few people, but in the shinobi world and especially for the Kazekage, the problems were on a much larger scale with people from all over involved. In that kind of world people need to stay strong and do their best not to lose their selves and hold fast to their ideals, dreams and compassion for others. I still don't know if I can get exactly what I want to say across but knowing that this person, that was real had overcome so much then she could too and hopefully become someone with the same light. Although I have to admit that the light Gaara got was from Naruto originally, he had a way of getting to people. Anyway, I'll have things that are more fun in the next chapter so everything isn't always so serious all the time. A little more comic relief in the next chapter I promise.


	3. Chapter 3: Trip to Konoha

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> This chapter was really hard to write. There were so many things I wanted to put in it and then I had to take things out and add different things. I still don't know if it is exactly how I want it to be. I feel it goes by too fast sometimes so I might rewrite some of it still but I really wanted to get through this chapter to get to the better part of the story. The dialogue also gave me some trouble and choosing characters I wanted to include but what is really challenging is thinking of what happened to them after the shinobi war. Anyway, I hope this chapter is not too strange, fast or out of place, though I think it will not be boring. By the way, this is by far the longest chapter I have written.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Trip to Konoha<strong>

* * *

><p>I had fully committed myself to training and studying. I was totally worn out by the end of each day but it was worth it. The book work I picked up on right away, but the actual physical training took long hours of practice. I found every day there was some part of my body that hurt like heck. I just had to keep telling myself that the pain was good and would make me stronger. From my studies I learned that I had an affinity for the wind element. I also learned that this kind of element is used for lacerations but also useful in medical treatment. With the wind element I could make blades that were sharper than any physical object.<p>

There was much more to this wind element but what struck me as strange was how it said that chakra could be concentrated into an element but it seemed like my chakra was all wind. Although what really bothered me was I had a hard time concentrating my chakra in the first place and I needed to do this in order to move on to other things like shape manipulation. I knew I couldn't give up though, I just have to train harder.

When I had received new clothes I felt a little strange. I basically got the under-netted armor which was a little lighter than I had thought and a yukata type clothing to go over it. The outfit was basically black with some red accents. The lady who made it said the red accented my eyes even though I am sure I would have preferred blue. Overall though I had very light clothing and felt a bit awkward in how I didn't have too much to cover me up. The sleeves were short and the tight shorts I had under the already short yukata were a little shorter than halfway to my knees.

I suppose I needed room to move and the fact that it was hot here most of the time made it seem more appropriate. I also wore other things like a certain type of sandal and holsters for weapons although I didn't have any yet.

Gaara accompanied me to every training session. Every so often one of my attacks would ricochet and his sand would protect himself from it and sometimes protect even me. Apparently since I couldn't control my chakra it was dangerous even to myself when I was using it, so I tried my best to learn how to control my chakra.

The highlight of my days was when Gaara would take me out to eat after. We had gone out to get ramen a lot and I told him that he didn't have to do that. I meant it as he didn't have to take me out all the time but he took it as he didn't have to take me out to get ramen specifically. So Gaara had taken me out to other places to get food. That was my fault for not being specific enough but I thought it was sweet of him to bring me out to eat although I still never saw him eat yet. I wondered when he actually ate.

I loved spending time with Gaara but when I needed a little more conversation I went out into the town with an escort and talked to random people in the village. I had originally gone out only to explore but I found that most of the people I met where friendly. I was also surprised to find that there where a lot of people that had normal types of jobs. There were people who built things, shop owners, cooks and much more. I had even found a part of the village that seemed like a shopping district.

Today it was my legs hurt like heck after training. Gaara had brought me out to eat again after as well and I was getting tired of him not eating with me. I needed to see him doing a normal human function. I decided today I was going to get him to eat something.

"Hey Gaara," I said suddenly.

He was watching me like he normally did and showed acknowledgment at the mention of his name.

"Eat this," I ordered holding a meat bun up to him.

I wasn't going to take no for an answer but surprisingly he took it.

He looked at it then back up to me, "Why?"

"I want to share my food with you," I said but I really wanted to make sure he ate it so I also added, "and you should always accept gifts and kindness graciously."

He then looked back down at the bun. I was starting to get a little nervous the more he stared at it but then he took a bite. I smiled as I watched him actually eat for once. To me it seemed extremely cute that he actually listened to me and was eating something I gave him. Well, I guess he paid for it but still it was like he accepted a gift from me.

When he was done he looked at me and apparently was surprised that I was smiling so much.

I giggled, "Did you like it?"

"Yes," he said calmly but the expression on his face was different than usual although I couldn't put my finger on what was different.

"Did you ever have a meat bun before?"

"Yes, I have," he replied again.

So I guess he did eat. Well, he had to eat to live I'm sure but it was amazing to actually see him do something so normal.

After we left I decided to talk a little more about it.

"You should really eat with me more often, I really enjoyed that," I smiled at him.

He looked over at me with that expression I couldn't understand again. He usually had the same expression all the time but it reminded me of the expression of wonder.

"You enjoyed it?" he asked.

I only smiled more, "Yeah, it made me happy."

It's at that moment I saw something I thought I would never see, especially directed at me. He smiled. It might have been a small one but I am sure he smiled.

My expression must have suddenly change to astonishment because his smile faded and he looked away from me.

I laughed to lighten the mood, "You should smile more often Gaara, you have a pleasant smile."

He looked back over at me with the expression of wonder again but it went back to his calm face and he looked away. We both kept walking forward in silence for a moment. I was afraid that maybe I went out of line and it would just be another awkward moment.

"I have never heard that before," he said.

I realized at this point that he had really opened up to me more. He usually would leave something like that in silence. I tried to guess why he had never heard something like that before. Where people afraid or too nervous to say something like that to him? Or did he simply not smile that much? I would believe it could be either one or even both.

When we arrived at my room I expected him to leave me to an escort right away like he always does but this time he didn't.

"We are leaving for Konoha in a few days. You should prepare for the journey," he told me.

"Wait, why are you taking me to Konoha?" I wondered why this was happening all of a sudden.

"We had informed them of your arrival some time ago and they believe they have found information on similar cases to yours but they also would like to meet you to be certain," he answered calmly.

"Oh okay, that's great," I replied happily.

He then was about to leave but I didn't want it to end awkwardly again, "Goodnight."

He stopped and turned his head toward me, "Goodnight."

He then left silently as always. It felt wonderful that I had got him to open up more. This trip to Konoha would be interesting too. I wondered who was going and what I would see there. Who was Hokage now? What was everyone doing there now? There were a lot of things I wanted to know. I couldn't wait to go there already.

* * *

><p>I had woken up early and gathered my things together excitedly. I put on a traveling cloak that was given to me over my ninja clothes and gathered up my new weapons such as shuriken and kunai.<p>

"You ready go?" I heard someone ask.

I turned around to see Kankuro at my door.

"Yup," I smiled as my stomach fluttered in nervous excitement.

"Alright, come on, we don't want to keep them waiting," he said and I trotted after him happily.

I was so excited to go to Konoha. I was even happier that they might have information on people like me. They might even know how to get me home.

We approached a large group of people who were gathered around Gaara and his smaller group.

"Alright, we can leave now, I got the alien," Kankuro commented as he reached the group.

I glared at him. How long was he going to keep up that alien stuff?

"Have a safe journey Kazekage-sama," someone from the crowd said.

There were many farewells and those who wished us well. These people really loved their Kazekage. I looked over at Gaara to see him in a travel cloak as well. He had his gourd and the Kazekage hat tried on it.

"Let's go," Gaara said after the farewells.

It's then that I realized we were going to take off on foot. With the way these people moved I wouldn't be able to keep up. They were all nice enough to walk with me before when leading me places but did they expect me to follow them at top speeds?

"Miss Aura," a man that was part of our group addressed me, "I have been assigned to escort you on this expedition."

He seemed like a very large and tall man. Compared to him I seemed really small.

"Umm okay," I said meekly intimidated just by his shear size.

He bent down and offered me his hand, "If you get on my back I'll carry you."

I felt a little weird having to do this with a stranger. I looked over at Gaara who was watching over his shoulder at me. I didn't want to hold up the group so I climbed on the man's back. I looked around to see six of us going on this trip: Gaara, Kankuro, two other men I didn't know, the man with me and myself. I had only just scanned the area before we took off.

I was right to think they moved faster than I could. We past things at over 50 miles per hour or at least it felt that way. We blazed past everything and I almost felt like I was flying. I wondered when we would get to Konoha.

"Hey, uhhhh-"

"Kimori," the man I was with looked back at me to tell me his name.

I smiled, "Kimori, when will we get to Konoha?"

"Almost two days," he responded.

Two day? I sighed and thought that this was going to be a very boring trip.

* * *

><p>I ended up sleeping on the way there, I was surprised that we had only stopped to rest once before moving on again. As I was sleeping for the third time during the trip when I was suddenly awoken.<p>

I opened my eyes to see the gates to Konoha. I felt a flurry of excitement rise in my stomach. Kimori let me down and my legs were weak from not using them much but it felt great to stretch them out finally. Konoha seemed like a very lively place. There were people everywhere and so much hustle and bustle. Walking around with the Kazekage's group made me fell like I was actually part of the Sand's village. I had never thought of it in Suna but now that I was here I noticed how I had somehow become affiliated with the Sand village.

We had got to a certain part of Konoha where there was an arena and some people were waiting for us.

"It's about time, you need to stop making the Kazekage late Kankuro," the person waiting for us said.

"What? I didn't make anyone late, we're on time," Kankuro retorted.

"Well on my clock you're late. The finals are going to start soon so you don't have time to rest, you should go up there now before people start to get impatient," she scolded.

I assumed this person was Temari because she really looked like her at least. She also had the attitude to be her. Beside her was Shikimaru who looked bored as always.

"Jeez, what a way to greet us. Whatever happened to hello, it's nice to see you again brother," Kankuro complained, "Let's go Gaara."

"Temari," Gaara nodded in acknowledgment to her before walking off toward the stadium stairs as the rest of the group followed.

I was about to follow as well but was stopped by Kimori, "You have to stay here, I'm sorry."

I felt a little sad that I didn't get to go with Gaara and the rest of the group, "Why? What's going on anyway?"

"Chunin exams," Temari answered.

She seemed to be judging me with her eyes.

"So you're the one from another world huh?" She watched me sternly.

"Yeah," I was trying to stare her down too.

"I hear you're a wind user too," she added.

"I guess so."

"Who's been training you?"

"Gaara."

"Gaara?" she seemed surprised.

"Yeah," I answered simply.

"He had sent a message about continuing your training with me, but I didn't know you had trained with him," she seemed a little thoughtful.

I wouldn't be training with Gaara anymore? My stomach twisted with sadness. I had only just started to get to know him.

"I'm sorry for interrupting the chit chat, but you're going to have to scold yourself for being late if you take any longer," Shikimaru commented.

Temari glared at him, "I'm seeing to Sand village business. Don't you have something you have to do?"

"You already forgot that we are overseeing the exam together," Shikimaru commented calmly.

She turned her attention back to me, "It looks like we will have to continue this later."

She left and continued to argue with Shikimaru. Every fight they had seemed like a lovers quarrel to me.

I turned to Kimori, "So, what are we suppose to do?"

"Well you are not allowed into the exams but otherwise I was told you usually like to find things to do on your own. I am here to merely supervise," he said.

"Oh," I was a little disappointed, "How come I can't go see the exams?"

"Viewing is only reserved for certain people," he answered showing disappoint in telling me this.

Well I was not going to let this get me down. I would make the best out of this situation.

"Alright then follow me," I told him happily.

I made my way through the streets taking in the sights and sounds. This place was even cooler than it was in the anime and manga. I could see that most of the buildings seemed quite new. I suppose that was because they had to rebuild this place after Pain's attack. Although, it still had the feeling of being bright and friendly. I smiled like an idiot I'm sure, thinking that I was so lucky to see this place.

It's then I got the best idea in the world, "Hey Kimori, do you know where Naruto lives?"

He seemed sorry to say, "No I don't."

I was kind of distraught at this news but I guess I couldn't expect him to know. I looked up and noticed the monument of the former Hokages. The last one in line was still Tsunade, I wondered if this meant she was still Hokage.

"Well I may not know where Naruto lives but I know of somewhere you might like," Kimori suggested suddenly.

Considering I didn't know where I was going I was happy there was a suggestion, "Lead the way."

Kimori didn't seem that bad. I was intimidated at first but maybe he was one of those gentle giants. He led me through the streets and to a more deserted part of town. I had assumed we were going through this part to get to where we were going until he stopped.

I just stared at his back wondering why we stopped in a place like this. It was a tight alley with not much visibility on either side and not many people in this part of the village. I felt my blood drain again as my heart started to beat faster. Fear had crept up on me too quickly. I got this funny inkling in the back of my mind that something wasn't right.

It's not the cliché dark skinny alley that had made me fearful but the overwhelming silence and stillness. I froze as he turned around to face me, with a crazed expression. Why was this happening?

"Finally the wind will be mine, " he said in a two toned type of voice.

I gasped as I was about to run but he was too fast. I could see it in slow motion how he was closing in on me. His hand outstretched with wide and wild eyes. His fingers were nearly touching my chest before I felt an immense pain. I screamed out but my surrounds soon faded from my consciousness. I felt like I was falling infinitely, unable to move.

* * *

><p>The wind picked up exponentially in the stadium. Everyone's attention was diverted to a huge whirlwind that was climbing up into the sky.<p>

"That chakra, what is it?" a leaf sensor said in disbelief.

People were still stuck in confusion as one of the Sand ninja's sensors recognized it.

"Kazekage-sama, that chakra is coming from the other worlder," he addressed him urgently.

"Aura," Gaara said before looking over at Tsunade.

"Go," she said seriously, "If she is what we think she is, this isn't good."

Gaara nodded before taking off with other Sand ninja's following after him.

Tsunade barked orders at her own Leaf ninja's to aid Gaara and find a way to contain the whirlwind but to be cautious.

She took off as well through the gusts of wind. If this person was who they thought then there wasn't going to be much they could do to stop her from destroying the village.

They all arrived at the scene quickly only to find that they couldn't get very close considering the size of the area the whirlwind covered. Those who got nearer couldn't hold their ground or where cut by random razors of wind chakra and debris.

"It's impossible to get any closer, the wind only gets wider and faster every second," a Leaf ninja commented loudly over the gale force winds.

"What's going on inside?" someone yelled out.

Tsunade turned to someone, "Neji!"

"Right," he yelled back over the wind.

His eyes strained then his sight closed in on the origin of the massive wind.

"It is calm inside. There's a girl in there and she seems to be unaware of anything going on around her," he reported.

"We have to get to her, Its the only way to stop the wind," Tsunade yelled as the wind currents picked up.

"But we can't get any closer and the wind tunnel is too high to get in from above," Kankuro commented.

Temari seemed to be having a hard time even standing.

"Are you alright?" Kankuro asked in concern.

"The wind seems to be taking my chakra," she said straining against the gusts.

"Stand back Temari," Gaara said as his sand started to rise out of the gourd.

He sent the sand into the wind as it spiraled around and inward.

"It's traveling on an inward current," Kankuro commented in amazement.

The sand poured into the calm interior of the chaotic wind building up to form a sand clone of Gaara. Though he didn't mean to do this, the sand was forced into a clone by means he didn't know of. He saw through his clone the nearly flattened and destroyed remnants of buildings and Aura standing in the middle of it all. She was standing serenely while staring down with eyes open but unseeing. He tried to form something else with the sand but it was stuck as a clone so the only thing he could do was approach her.

She was like a breathing statue. As he got closer to her she lifted her head and he froze ready for anything to happen but she just smiled.

"Gaara, how were the exams?" she trailed off near the end as her eyes started to close and she was loosing her balance.

Surprised by this reaction he nearly forgot that he couldn't use his sand as he wanted to in here. He quickly caught her before she fell and noticed that she was unconscious now. The wind's roar quickly slowed to a stop as bits of debris fell to the ground from various heights. Feeling the control of his sand come back to him he lowered her to the ground while his sand then shifted back onto the ground.

Once things were clear people closed in on the scene. Many things happened at once. Aura was examined for sign of injury and other various abnormalities while others searched the area for any victims of the attack. Temari was able to move more freely and everyone did various activities. Gaara neared Aura and stared down at her in the midst of the motion. His expression was lined with the traces of confusion and concern. Why had she stopped after seeing him?

* * *

><p>I shot up in bed from a dream I couldn't remember.<p>

"You're up," someone said kindly.

I looked to my left to see a woman I wasn't familiar with standing next to my bed. Apparently she had been doing something before I had woken up. I was confused for a second until I remembered how Kimori had come at me. I leaned away from this unknown person.

"Who are you and where is this?" I asked defensively.

The woman smiled at me, "I'm a medical ninja and this is the medical ward in Konoha. You were out for six hours."

"Six hours?" I questioned, astonished, "What? How did I get here? What happened?"

Her eyes widened in confusion for a second then she turned her head, reluctant to say anything. I was about to ask her more but someone came in the room.

"So the alien is awake huh," Kankuro commented as he walked over to my bed, "You sleep way too much."

I glared at him but noticed that even though he seemed like he was joking, his usual expression was serious.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

I hadn't thought of it so I took a second to pay attention to my body but nothing seemed off, "Alright I guess."

"Hm, that's good," he simply responded, examining me with suspicion.

I took this opportunity to ask my own questions, "Why am I here? Where is Kimori?"

I didn't want to be too direct about the Kimori thing. For all I knew they could have sent him after me. I didn't want to believe that but I couldn't rule out the possibility.

He looked as if he was reluctant to say anything as well, "If you're alright to walk I'll take you to the Hokage. Gaara is meeting with her right now and I'm sure they wanted to talk to you when you were well enough."

I didn't know what was going on but I was very suspicious at this point. Why couldn't anyone tell me what was going on? Well if no one was going to tell me then I was just going to have to ask the Hokage and Kazekage themselves to get my answers. With determination I stood up even though I felt dizzy upon standing.

"Alright," I gained my composer quickly, "take me there."

Kankuro noticed I couldn't stand well but he wasn't the type to tell me to stay in bed. I followed him out while actually feeling better the more I walked.

"So are the exams over?" I asked since the Kages were both meeting.

He only turned his head toward me slightly, "Not quite."

We made it to the office door as Kankuro knocked.

I heard people stop talking then a voice from far away say, "Come in."

He opened the door to reveal Tsunade, Shizune, Gaara and Temari.

"Welcome Kankuro and . . . Aura I presume," Tsunade greeted but stared at me for a longer time than she did Kankuro.

"She was awake when I went to check on her. I thought you might want to talk with each other," he said as we entered.

"Yes, thank you Kankuro," Tsunade said.

I couldn't wait, I needed my questions answered, "Please, may I ask, what happened? Where is Kimori? Why did I wake up in a hospital bed?"

"So you don't remember" Tsunade said more as a comment instead of a question.

"Remember what?" I was getting impatient and nervous.

This silence and secrecy was really getting to me. What were they not telling me?

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked seriously.

"I remember," I paused at the thought of his crazed eyes, "Kimori had attacked me and the next thing I know I was in bed."

"Kimori," I heard Gaara say.

"We didn't find his body anywhere, he had either escaped or got ripped to unidentifiable shreds," Kankuro commented.

"I can't believe you brought him on the team, didn't you check him Kankuro," Temari scolded her brother.

"Of course I did! He was clean. If anything got to him it would have had to be when we left him with Aura," Kankuro retorted.

"Aura," Tsunade addressed me, "did you notice anything strange when with Kimori? Did you have any contact with anyone around here?"

"No," I responded, "We really didn't talk to anyone, he had just taken me to a secluded part of the village and that's when it happened."

"I see," she said thoughtfully.

"But what happened?" I wasn't going to let this go.

They also knew I had enough of not knowing as well.

"Well," Tsunade started, "to put this simply your power went out of control and you have destroyed part of our village. Fortunately it wasn't a densely populated area so no one was killed."

The room seemed to get smaller around me as I stared at her in disbelief, "What? What are you talking about?"

"Maybe it would be better if I explained what you are," she closed her eyes thoughtfully for a while before opening them again, "We believe, and it has been shockingly apparent after today's events, that you are the incarnation of the Wind Element."

I smiled nervously as if this was a joke, "What do you mean? How could that be? I'm just- I'm not- I can't be anything like that."

My head felt fuzzy. I was just a normal girl. They definitely got the wrong person.

"Seeing as you can't remember anything it would seem impossible but I assure you that you are not normal," she informed me.

"Even so," I couldn't believe this, "How would you know if I am this Wind Element thing?"

"Shizune," she turned her head toward her assistant who nodded.

"I had inspected her after the incident to find that her chakra, at first glance, is that of natural energy from around her but if you look more closely at it, it is all absorbed wind chakra from the air. Also these events are similar to information from old records found in the library a few days ago," Shizune said to everyone then placed some papers she had in her hands on the Tsudane's desk.

Old drawings and faded scripts sprawled across the browned papers.

Shizune continued, "These records where copied from tables found in ruins from each country named after the five elements. Apparently these countries were originally founded in these places because each has a temple claiming to be the sight of the respective element's birth. The scripts told of the beginning of the world when five people of each element came into being from the darkness. They waged war against each other for hundreds of years without any one of them gaining an edge. After many years of fighting the elements neared their death then noticed the futility of their fighting and how their existence caused never ending conflict. Before they died they scattered their power across dimensions so that in their future decedents wouldn't be able to wage war again."

"So how does that explain why you think I am this element thing? Why would I be here now even if I was?" I asked confused.

"Even though I don't know why the element of wind appeared now from another dimension, I am certain that you how unique wind element chakra," Shizune told me.

"So what does this all mean," I asked.

"We are not exactly certain," Tsunade commented, "It could mean the start of the elements war on each other again or it could mean nothing at all."

I didn't know what to say. War? How could I be a part of something like that?

"Although in light of the situation with Kimori, we now know that someone is after you and maybe all of the elements. For all we know, there could be multitudes of people. They could even be responsible for bringing you to this world."

"Oh great, another group out to control the world," Kankuro commented.

"We don't know if that's the case," Tamari told him.

"Whatever the case, it is worth looking into. It's troublesome news to hear that someone has not only infiltrated Suna's forces but Konoha's as well," Tsunade spoke urgently.

"It's safe to say that we cannot trust anyone. This form of infiltration was beyond anyone's detection and it is highly likely that if anyone is left alone they might be compromised," she looked at everyone suspiciously and the others did the same to each other as well.

"So what does this mean? What's going to happen to me?" I asked wondering if I had to be on guard every second of the day.

"You were found in Suna so what happens to you is left up to them," she looked over at Gaara and so did I.

He had been listening and watching intently to the whole thing, "It seems she can't be left alone. Kankuro, Temari and I will watch her at all times."

I looked at him to see his same expression as always. Temari and Kankuro looked a little annoyed that they had to constantly spend time together from now on.

Tsunade's gaze lingered on Gaara for a time before she said, "Very well then. It is probably for the best that you stay with her Kazekage."

He didn't say anything but I guess that meant he agreed.

Tsunade then seemed to relax from her serious state, "The exams will be postponed for a while. We will contact you if we find any further information on this subject."

"We will do the same," Gaara said before getting ready to leave.

Everyone of the Sand started to move toward the door but I had one more question, "Tsuna- I mean, Hokage, if my power went out of control from an attack, what stopped it?"

Gaara stopped abruptly and so did the other two when they saw him stop.

"Gaara," Tsunade answered simply.

I looked over at Gaara who had his back to me.

He looked over his shoulder with his same expression although it was lined with another emotion, "Let's go."

I was a little curious as to what that emotion was. I wasn't familiar enough with his expressions yet to figure out what it was. We walked together down the halls as I pondered a few things. Gaara had stopped me but I couldn't remember how he did? There was no sign of attack on my body? Maybe he just woke me up. I hated not remembering anything like this.

It was then that something struck my mind as the sight in front of me melted away to different scenery. It was somewhere cloudy and high in altitude. In the rocky outskirts of a town a small pillar of light shot up into the sky. As it dispersed a kneeling figure rose up slowly. He had blonde hair with two longer ponytails of blue in the back. Right above each ear he had long white thin horns. His outfit was white and lined with dark blue accents. He wore some kind of armored shirt and some kind of armored jacket over it. His pants were white and slightly baggy that were tucked into his dark navy blue and black boots. On the sides of hips he had two more pieces of armor about the length of his thigh that matched his jacket. He also had a collar around his neck that was attached to a broken chain.

He fully rose then opened his eyes which were an electric blue with sliver pupils. He looked around slowly then smiled maliciously.

"Finally," he said in a smooth tone, "I'm free of that place. That will teach them that they can't imprison Ryuu."

He looked down at his hands as they burst into a blue ball of electric currents in each hand.

"Hmmm, seems like I have more power here," he flexed his hands.

In one sudden movement he threw his hands up to the sky causing a massive lightning bolt that lit up the area.

He then lowered his arms full of static coursing energy and smiled wider showing his fangs, "This is going to be fun."

My vision melted back to Konoha where Temari was holding my shoulders.

"Hey, can you hear me?" she asked loudly then looked over her shoulder, "How is Gaara?"

Kankuro was over doing the same thing to Gaara whose expression was blank but then slowly gained some sense again.

"I'm fine Kankuro," he said after he gained himself.

"You both just zoned out all of a sudden," Kankuro said looking over at me suspiciously.

Did Gaara see the same thing I did?

"What happened?" Temari asked in her accusing voice.

"I saw . . . something that wasn't human, he was wielding mass amounts of lightning," I said slowly, "I don't know why I saw that."

Gaara was staring at me in astonishment. That was the first time I ever saw him make such a different expression from his normal one.

Kankuro seemed to catch this, "Gaara, did you see the same thing?"

He made a thoughtful expression, "Yes, he seemed to be in Kumokagure."

"Don't tell me we have to go back and see the Hokage already," Kankuro complained.

I just laughed nervously although something else was bothering me. Why was Gaara the only other person to see the same thing I did?

* * *

><p>Shizune noticed that Tsunade was pondering something.<p>

"Is something bothering you Tsunade?" she questioned concerned.

She didn't look at Shizune when she answered, "It's strange that Gaara was not affected by the wind."

"What do you mean?" she questioned confused.

"I had noticed during the wind disaster that those with an affinity for wind had their chakra drained but Gaara was unaffected," she went on.

"That's odd, doesn't Gaara have an affinity for wind?" She commented surprised.

"Yes," Tsunade then looked over at Shizune, "I believe there is lot more to this than we know."

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> I'm glad to say now that the real journey will begin. Unlike this chapter I think the other ones will be a little easier to write and won't be as choppy or strange. I'm sorry if it seemed condensed, and I will say again that it might be rewritten if I find a way to make it better. I really had to struggle through this chapter and hope it turned out well but thanks to getting through it I can continue on the path I was planning on. Always open to suggestions and feedback! I can always add things people want or things like that. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Lightning Strikes!

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Sorry this took so long to post. I was done with two thirds of this chapter when some personal problems came up in my life, some very serious ones. I also started school on top of that so I got a little behind and I think this chapter may be a little strange. If it is written strange please tell me in a review, I went back and edited and rewrote some parts and at some point I couldn't read any of it without thinking something was wrong with it so I just left it as it was. On the other hand I am glad that I got this one posted, I can reassure you that I am not giving up on this story since I have it all planned out anyway, all I have to do is write it out. Well, actually writing it out takes a lot of time to do but at least I have the outline done. Thanks to all for reading so far and hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Special Thanks:** Thanks to _pitifuldreamer666_ for telling me that what I was writing was interesting. It's nice to know that I haven't made something that gets boring from the start.

Thanks to _Narutard_ for reviewing, and don't worry, it won't be abandoned.

Thanks to _Nekomata_ for reviewing, I hope when the new group/enemy is fully introduced that you will like them.

Thanks to _misaai_ for reading my notes and commenting on my concerns, that really helped.

Thanks to everyone that favorited and alerted my story, so far this story has the most out of all of my previous stories and in a very short time. Thank you all!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Lightning Strikes!<strong>

* * *

><p>A messenger bird was sent out to Kumo when we told the Hokage about the vision. Although relations had become a lot better between the five great ninja villages they still didn't become completely allied after the war against Mandara. We didn't know if they would cooperate fully with us. I had a funny feeling deep inside that I should go to Kumo, in a way it felt like a magnetic attraction in that direction. In order to go to Kumo we needed the permission of the Raikage and to ask him if they had seen anything or anyone strange like me.<p>

Tsunade had called the thing between Gaara and I, a bond. Nobody or any sensor could find any connection between us whether through chakra or any other means. Although the bond between us was only a theory I believed to be true since Gaara also had that magnetic need to go to Kumo. I could also tell that Temari was concerned about this connection since she sort of threatened me about harming Gaara. Even though being threatened by Temari was scary, it really showed how much she loved her brother.

I felt bad about the connection already though. I didn't know if I made it or not but I knew I didn't do anything consciously to make it. I suppose it wasn't harming either of us. For the most part the connection was unnoticeable since it's not like we could read each other's minds or anything.

I also felt bad about the destruction I had caused. I saw the site where I had supposedly let loose. I didn't remember it but I still said I was sorry to the Hokage. Everyone simply brushed off my apologies. Apparently they were use to these kinds of things. It was also great that no one got seriously hurt.

The other two Sand ninjas that came with us to Konoha were sent back to Suna with the news of the events and to inform the village that the Kazekage would be gone longer than expected. Because of all the suspicion caused by Kimori: Temari, Kankuro or Gaara were always with me. Sometimes they were with me all at once. Needless to say there was not much privacy. We all ended up sleeping in the same room since I couldn't be left alone. It's not very peaceful sleeping in the same room as an insomniac, a snorer and a girl who was upset with me because I was the reason she had to share her room.

Temari had thrown pillows and things at Kankuro to stop his snoring and a small spat would break out. Eventually they finally fell asleep and it was silent, but no matter how many times I closed my eyes I couldn't sleep.

I sighed then opened my eyes to look around the room. Kankuro was sprawled across his bed snoring again. Temari was sleeping on her side facing away from me, and Gaara was sitting on top of his covers awake. He was staring at the window where the moonlight was pouring in. I wondered what he was thinking about?

"Gaara," I sat up in bed as he turned to me, "aren't you tired?"

"No," he answered, "Aren't you?"

"I just can't sleep, I keep thinking about that person," I could see the slitted pupils in my mind and shivered.

After some silence between us I asked, "You suffer from insomnia right Gaara?"

"Yes," he responded simply.

"But you don't have the Shukaku anymore, or are you just used to not sleeping?" even though it was dark I saw his expression change to surprise.

"You know about the Shukaku?" he asked.

Oh no, I didn't want to bring this up with him. I really had been avoiding things about his past since I got here. Me and my big mouth.

"Ah, well," I tried to think nervously, "I actually know a lot of things about your past. I mean, I know a lot of things about this world in general."

I thought I really made this moment awkward until he looked away and said, "I am used to being awake."

"Oh," I was confused but I realized he answered my earlier question, "but you do sleep right?"

He looked back at me, "Yes, I do."

"Well," I shifted in bed so I was sitting on my legs, "since we are both awake, you want to do something?"

"What do you have in mind?" he didn't move at all.

"Come over here," I smiled as I got up and then sat in the moonlight.

He hesitantly got up as well then walked over to me. I patted the floor opposite me. He sat down with the moonlight shining on the floor between us.

"In elementary school I used to play a game with my friends, it was a game used to read the other person's mind," he just stared at me with his level expression.

"In order to do this you have to hold out your hands palms up okay," I told him.

I didn't know if he would do it but he was actually cooperative with me and held out both hands in the moonlight.

I smiled as I slid a finger gently over both palms, "Which one tingled the longest?"

He lifted his right hand and I took it and then did the same thing with each of his fingers, "Okay, same question."

"This one," he flicked his index finger.

I then continued and dug a nail into each of the three sections on his finger, "Which on hurt the longest?"

"The last one," he said which was the top of his finger.

I then pressed down on this part of his finger tightly, "Now close your eyes and think of anything, but make sure to picture it clearly in your mind."

He closed his eyes and I waited a while then let go. An image flashed in red quickly against white then went back to normal.

I blinked in surprise, "Oh wow."

He opened his eyes to see what I was so surprised about.

"I saw the symbol on your forehead," I said looking at the character above his left eye.

He looked down at his hand then back up to me. I couldn't tell if he was surprised by this or not.

"What were you thinking about?" I asked curiously.

"I thought it was suppose to read my mind," he answered.

"Well it isn't perfect but at least I know that it has something to do with the symbol on your forehead," I told him.

"I don't think this trick works," he said.

"Well if you told me what you were thinking about maybe it would make sense," I encouraged an answer from him.

After some time he said, "I couldn't think of one thing."

I sighed, "Oh well, I'm feeling kind of tired now."

I got up and so did he. It actually seemed awkward that he stood at the same time.

"Thanks for playing that game with me. Goodnight, I hope you get at least some rest," I smiled at him before going back to bed.

For some reason this moment seemed a lot more awkward than it should be. I laid in bed and pulled the covers over my head. What was he thinking about? If it wasn't clear it wouldn't have shown up at all. So did he lie to me? Why did he avoid the question? All the questions in my mind proved to be the narcoleptic I needed to finally fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Gaara watched as her breathing became more shallow and level. He knew she had fallen asleep at that point. He then looked over at the moonlight again. Why had she seen that symbol? He couldn't possibly think of one thing. Did any of his thoughts have anything in common? Did they have something to do with the symbol?<p>

He shuffled through his thoughts trying to find similarities when he realized something. He looked back over to Aura's sleeping form. They all had involved her. The recent disaster in Konoha, her training, the meals after training, the day she arrived in Suna; they all had one thing in common.

Aura shifted in her sleep. If she was the similarity in his thoughts then why did that symbol show up?

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning with a horrible feeling; it was like something extremely bad had happened. I brushed it off though thinking that it was just a bad dream that had awoken me. Temari had told me that day that I needed some kind of weapon. She considered my inability to concentrate my chakra and thought some kind of weapon would help. I ended up picking dual tonfa-style blades. They were relatively easy to hold and Temari thought they would be perfect for my element.<p>

I was just going to start training with my new weapons when someone had come to find us. The person told us that the Hokage had gotten a message from Kumo this morning.

We had only gotten to Tsunade's office when she said, "There you are."

It seemed like she was overwhelmed at the moment, "We received a message from Kumo with some disturbing news."

"What is it?" Temari questioned urgently.

Tsunade was in front of her desk holding what I assumed to be the message.

"Kumo had been attacked by a person with odd lightening chakra," She said then looked at me, "Chakra similar to yours Aura."

"How were they attacked?" Kankuro questioned glancing over at me.

Tsunade gazed at everyone before answering, "Apparently this person had found his way into the village and tried to kill anyone he met with odd lightening chakra. Although Kumo's forces reacted quickly to the intrusion this person proved to be overwhelming. The Raikage's chakra was drained so he had tried to defeat him with pure physical strength. The enemy had fled after becoming seriously wounded although they haven't been able to track him down yet."

"So we can assume this guy is the lightening element," Kankuro commented sounding mad.

"It would seem that is so," Tsunade responded, "Although the Raikage is not the type to ask for help or share much information so I'm sure he will try to handle this on his own. Even this letter was written by one of his subordinates."

"So can we go there?" I asked.

The magnetic pull I had with Kumo was only getting worse.

Tsunade looked at me, "I'm not sure if your arrival will be welcomed."

"I'm sorry but I need to go there," I spoke up, "I have a desperate need to go. I'm not sure if it's because I am this element or something but I have to go meet this other person."

There was a long pause but I needed to stand firm on this.

"I also need to go to Kumo," Gaara said suddenly.

"Gaara?" Kankuro was surprise but Gaara kept staring at Tsunade.

"I need to know more about these elements," he said.

Tsunade's expression changed when looking at him. She then smiled and looked away, "I will inform Kumo that you will be on your way, but be wary on your journey. I can't promise you will get a warm welcome."

"Thank you," I said happily to her.

She smiled back, "Good luck."

We began to leave and I noticed how Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara with curiosity and suspicion. I was also quite curious as well. Was it the bond that made him want to go as much as I did or was it something else?

* * *

><p>We were preparing for the journey. I already had my new weapons on me but otherwise I just needed to gather my kunai and shuriken. As I packed I realized that ninjas really didn't take anything they didn't need. We were going to set out right away that afternoon. My time in Konoha had been short but I hoped I would be back again sometime. Hopefully I wouldn't destroy something the next time.<p>

We reached the gates of the village when Kankuro stopped, "Are you sure about this Gaara?"

Everyone stopped suddenly.

Gaara turned to his brother, "Yes."

"How can we trust you?" He said accusingly.

"Kankuro," Temari said it as if she was restraining him.

"Oh come on, you have been thinking it too Temari," he looked at her and back to Gaara, "You have been acting weird since the incident during the exams. This connection between you and Aura could be a bad thing. Are you going to Kumo because you want to or because she does?"

Kankuro seemed deadly serious. There was a strange and deadly tension in the air. Gaara looked at his brother with intensity.

"I am going because Aura is my responsibility," he simply said.

"Because she is your student?" Kankuro questioned.

"Because she is a part of Suna," Gaara responded.

Kankuro seemed taken aback by this.

I really didn't understand what was going on between them. It must have been some sibling thing I didn't know of. I felt very out of place.

"Let's get moving, it's going to take a few days to get there," Temari broke up the strange silence.

"Right," Kankuro responded.

It seemed no one was paying attention to me at all as they all started walking forward. I didn't know what to think about what just happened. I'm a responsibility? I'm a part of Suna? I had no idea when that happened. I know I felt bad about being a responsibility though. All I was doing was causing trouble for these people. Was I even any help at all?

"Here?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara nodded to him then turned to me, "Aura."

Because I was lost in thought this caught me off guard, "Huh?"

Sand started to gather around me.

"We are going to take off. Hold on to the sand," Gaara told me.

I didn't know exactly what to do but I grabbed on to a stream of sand. It seemed like I had only just grabbed it before we began flying through the trees. It was really weird riding on sand but it was actually more comfortable than when I was with Kimori. Traveling was easy, at least I thought so. We didn't run into any difficulties and stopped near a river on our way there. They had said it was a good idea to take a break before we left the Land of Fire because we didn't know what we would encounter across the border. We would leave for the Land of Lightening tomorrow.

I sat by the river looking up at the colorful sky. Trees were densely packed together so I couldn't see the setting sun but I really liked the sound of the river. Kankuro was with me trying to catch fish while Gaara kept a look out and Temari gathered wood for a fire. It had been a while since I had camped out like this.

I looked over at Kankuro who seemed to be having a difficult time. I thought this was a perfect moment to get back at him for calling me an alien.

"You catch any dinner yet?" I yelled to him.

He seemed to get annoyed, "If you shout like that you'll scare them away."

"I don't know, I think maybe they're scared of all that make-up on your face," I replied.

He seemed to get tempered by that, "This isn't make-up, it's face paint."

"Well whatever you want to call it, it's still scaring the fish," I retorted.

He smirked, "If you think you can do better then I'd like to see you catch a fish."

There is no way I could turn this down. If I did then he would win and I needed to prove that I could be of help instead of problem. I walked over and took off my shoes before wading in the water. We glare at each other for a second before we both went silent waiting for a chance.

It was then I saw a fish come my way; I had to be careful and precise. I shot my hand into the water and pulled it out quickly again. I didn't even notice I had pulled the fish out with my hand but it didn't stay there long. I tried to get a good hold on it but it was impossible, it slipped out of my grip and went flying and hit Kankuro in face. He trashed about in surprise trying to get it off him, as he stumbled backward. It finally got off him as he lost his footing and fell into the water. I tried to dive and catch the fish before it hit the water but ended up splashing head first into the river. The fish got away.

Kankuro and I stood up again dripping wet. We stared at each other for a minute in silence before we started laughing. It was then I realized that it had been a while since I really laughed like that.

* * *

><p>"What did you two try to do, drown the fish?" Temari said as we entered our campsite.<p>

She had already got the fire going and Gaara was there with her as well.

"Why are you both wet?" she asked, as we got closer.

"Well someone thought she could do a better job," Kankuro hinted.

"What?" I glared at him, "I actually caught one."

"It got away so you can't really count that as catching one," he said.

We glared at each other.

Temari was un-amused, "So you didn't catch anything."

"Uh, well," we both turned sheepish.

She sighed and held up a string of fish she caught.

I could almost hear Kankuro twitch, "What? When did you—?"

"I knew you weren't going to catch anything. I don't know why you even volunteered to do it in the first place. You couldn't catch a fish if your life depended on it," she said as Kankuro was fuming.

"Oh yeah well you—achoo!" Kankuro interrupted himself with a big sneeze.

"Why don't you two dry off while I cook these," she suggested before she began the food preparations.

Kankuro and I got something to wrap around ourselves as we sat by the fire. Some of the brother-sister banter had gone on while the food was cooking too. I wanted to talk as well but I decided that it's best if I stay out of it. I glanced over at Gaara and saw that he was thinking about something so I didn't want to disturb him either. It was only after we ate that I finally got a chance to talk.

"So Aura," I perked up at the mention of my name.

"Where are you from exactly? What's it like there?" Kankuro asked.

"Oh well," it felt strange thinking about before I arrived here, "I came from a place called Farwood. I guess you could call it a small town. It was actually a lot like this area. We had a lot of forests and lakes. I guess you can say I lived in a place kind of like Konoha. Although most of the year is really cold and snowy"

"Ugh, snow," he seemed disgusted.

I just laughed. That's right, these people were from a desert.

"What about your family?" Temari asked.

Apparently Temari and even Gaara were looking at me with interest.

"Well I lived with my mom and dad, my older sister moved out with her boyfriend a few years ago," I answered.

Kankuro leaned over to toward me and said, "Aren't older sisters a pain?"

She glared at him and was about to say something when Gaara interrupted, "What about your friends?"

I was surprised to hear him ask but then smiled, "I had a few friends. If I think about, I've actually had them ever since I've started school."

He seemed satisfied by this answer and looked away.

"It really is strange to be in a place like this. I mean, we don't have anything like the ninjas here. These kinds of things only existed in a fictional world," I said staring at the fire in front of me.

It was a little weird talking about my past. It all felt like some kind of dream now. I even felt that I was a little spoiled when I looked back at the live I had compared to this one. Was that world the fictional one or was this place?

"I'm almost beginning to wonder if I even exist," I said to myself.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked over to see Kankuro smiling at me, "You don't need to talk like that, as long as you have us around we can bring you back to reality."

I smiled back at this comment. Maybe Kankuro wasn't so bad after all. I glanced over at Gaara who was staring at me. I couldn't exactly place the look he was giving me but he had looked away quickly.

* * *

><p>Sleep came easily to me that night, probably because I didn't sleep well the night before. What I didn't expect was to wake up in the middle of the night fully awake. The fire had nearly gone out as the coals soft red glow was my only light. I sat up in my blankets and looked around. Kankuro had the covers over his head snoring more softly than the other night and Temari was sleeping normally. Gaara was sitting against a tree with his eyes closed. I watched him wondering if he was asleep.<p>

"You're awake?" he opened his eyes and asked.

Well, maybe someday I would catch him sleeping.

"Yeah," I answered, "I think I'm a bit nervous about Kumo. I just have a bad feeling about that vision."

He was silent for a while then stood up, "Get your weapons together and follow me."

I was caught by surprise but got up anyway. I followed him a little ways away from the camp to a small clearing.

"Pull out your weapons," he said facing me in the clearing.

"Ummm, what?" I asked.

"The tonfa-style blades are close combat weapons. Before you start using your chakra with them, you should first learn how to handle them," he told me in his calm voice.

I felt nervous drawing the weapons. They were actually lighter than they looked or maybe I had just gotten stronger. I kind of hoped it was the latter.

"The blades are meant to spin with the handle. Knowing when to loosen and tighten your grip on the weapons is important," he explained.

I looked down at the weapons doubtfully. Close combat weapons? Maybe these things were wrong for me.

"Hold up your weapons," he said.

I hesitantly held them up. I suppose this wasn't much different than when I trained with him before but attacking him with sharp objects seemed dangerous. Although I'm sure his sand would protect him but still, it seemed that I was some kind of dangerous entity. I didn't know if I would actually hurt him or anyone else by mistake.

"Come at me with intent to kill," he told me calmly.

Intent to kill? How could I kill him? How could I kill anyone?

I took a deep breath then focused on my target. I took off running at him as fast as I could. I swung the blade at him but just as I expected, the sand protected him from my attack. I used my other hand to try to attack from another angle but the sand was there in an instant again. It wrapped around my arms and tossed me back where I tripped slightly but then gained my footing again. I lunged forward again knowing I had to attack faster. Hitting the sand clumsily with my weapons I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere without using my chakra.

I needed to concentrate it to the weapon. Even though it had been hard to concentrate it in my body before, the blades actually picked up my chakra right away. I jumped backward to make some space between us while I charged my chakra into the blades behind me. Then with a swift movement I went for the strike. The speed was something I wasn't sure I was capable of in the first place. I noticed the sand wasn't going to protect him in time as the chakra blade was nearing his neck. Was I really going to kill him? I stopped an inch away from his skin as the sand closed in and shoved me back. I stumbled back and fell on my butt.

I looked up to see him standing there. He hadn't made much movement since the start of the fight. The sand was still surrounding him protectively. A small breeze blew past me as I finally felt how cool the night air was.

"You still aren't able to take your fights seriously," he said with his level voice, "It's uncertain what we will find in Kumo. There will be times that you will have to fight and there will be people who will be fighting to kill you. There might also be times that the person may be someone you know. It's important to clear your mind and be able to fight with everything you have no matter who you face."

I felt a twinge of shame. I had come so far with my training but I still had a long way to go. Did I really have to fight to kill? The life I had in my world seemed so spoiled compared to this place. I was being forced to do things and face problems I never thought I would ever have to face in my entire life. Now was the time to ask myself the hard questions. Could I kill someone for my own survival? Could I possibly even intend to kill someone close to me? What if that person was my sister? What if it was the people I was traveling with?

This person I was pursuing in Kumo could be dangerous. The reason I was nervous about this trip was that I knew deep down that I had to fight this person. It could be because I was an element that I knew, but I also felt this was my duty. I was compelled to go. Ready or not the wheels of an uncertain future were turning and I was along for the ride.

I got up and brushed myself off. I gave Gaara my best-determined face I could.

"Thank you Gaara," I bowed respectively, "Please let me try again."

I looked back up at him since the silence was lasting longer than I thought. His expression had changed slightly. I could tell he knew I understood what he was trying to get across. I smiled and held up my weapons then ran at him for another attack. Gaara always knew how to keep me moving forward. Hopefully someday I will be able to repay him.

* * *

><p>We had taken off in the early morning before the sun even shed a ray of light in the sky. I ended up sleeping on the sand when traveling which made up for some of the night training. They woke me up when we had crossed the border between the countries; from then on it would be unpredictable. When we stopped for a brief break on the way to Kumo, Temari took the time to train me with my new weapons as well. She really helped me develop more wind-style techniques while Gaara had trained me more on weapon use.<p>

Although I can't say all the weapon training went smoothly. Kankuro thought it was funny how I was so clumsy sometimes. He got me so mad that I eventually fought against him and his puppets. That gave an informal lesson on poisons for sure. Kankuro complained about having to waste one of the antidotes on me, that jerk.

When we started moving again our landscape quickly changed from forests to mountains. The slopes seemed to get steeper every minute around us. We followed a river chasm for a while before finding a sloping mountain path that was hidden well enough that I would have never noticed it if they didn't point it out. We ended up walking up these slopes and going at a slower pace than before. It was harder to breath the higher we went, but I didn't want to be the first person to say anything about it. Luckily Kankuro beat me to complaining about the altitude.

"Stop complaining," Temari scolded him.

"How can anyone live up here? You can't even breath," he wined.

"You'll get used to it," she said, huffing a little herself.

"So where is Kumo?" I asked.

"We're almost there," Gaara answered.

I sighed in relief but then noticed that everyone was frozen.

"Ummm, what's going-" Temari held up her hand for me to be quiet.

This wasn't good.

One of the large clouds that were sweeping over the mountain's path rolled by quickly leaving behind a person. He stood there with a devious grin on his face as if he had been waiting there the whole time. My breath had caught in my throat as I noticed that this was the person we were looking for. In person he looked even more terrifying than in my vision. I tried my best not to show that I was afraid and nervous.

"What do we have here?" I heard Kankuro say.

The person chuckled, "What an odd bunch you all are."

"Who are you?" Temari asked.

He rubbed the back of his head as if he was thinking, "I have been called by many names but the one I am rather particular about is Ryuu."

He seemed to be relaxed and confident but I had no idea why he had decided show himself in a place like this. I felt my chakra pulse. It was like a sudden pull and repel of the magnetic, as if it couldn't decide if I should approach or run away.

"Well?" he said with fake innocence, "I introduced myself, isn't it customary to respond with one's own introduction?"

"You know who we are," Gaara said staring the man down, "You are the one that has been watching us this whole time."

We all looked at Gaara with confusion as the man across from us smiled.

"So you were the one blocking me. You must be the girl's Familiar," Ryuu stared straight back at him with amusement.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Ryuu looked at me like I was stupid, "You really don't know? In that case this might be easier than I thought."

He lifted his hand to examine it leisurely, "I was hoping to have a little fun."

Sparks then shot between his fingertips, "I guess I will just have to kill you slowly for entertainment."

Before I even blinked he was flying at me with an arm of immense electrical currents. Suddenly he was blasted sideways by Gaara's sand into a rock where he landed like a cat. Sand snaked its way around his side and his arm.

"A sand user, not bad to keep up with my speed," he smiled with a wild amusement, "but not good enough."

Gaara's eyes widened for a second as Ryuu's electricity surged through the sand surrounding his arm and side causing it to turn into a glass substance and snapping it off of himself. Temari attacked with her wind sending hurls of air blades. Ryuu evaded but it was a trap since one of Kankuro's puppets was waiting to impale him with a poison blade.

"Got you," Kankuro smirked in victory but it was short lived.

Ryuu had disappeared.

"Well that trap was actually clever, I had no idea the puppet was there," he said from behind us.

We whirled around to see him acting cool as he sniffed the air, "And the smell of poison. The Wind really has gathered a peculiar bunch."

"So you're the Lightning," I said with wonder, which made Ryuu look at me.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" I asked.

He smirked, "Such a naive girl. What compelled you to come here? We are the Elements; our destiny is endless conflict. I always knew what I was, living for centuries as a demon in another world. Unlike my previous incarnations I will kill the Wind and without it I will have nothing left in my way. I will do as I please, I don't need anyone else. Once you are gone I will be free and this pointless chain will be broken."

There was a sense of seriousness in his voice that contradicted his carefree expression. Was he right? Is an endless conflict all that lies ahead of me?

"Looking for freedom in the annihilation of others," Gaara said with a tint of anger in his voice.

This is the first time since I saw Ryuu that he looked truly angry, "The only way to gain freedom is to have no one. People imprison each other through chains called friendship. I will release myself from all forms of imprisonment; from fate, from people and from any physical bonds."

He then laughed to himself, "What am I saying to you people, let me just kill you and get this over with."

He lunged at me again. He moved so fast it seemed like he teleported. I couldn't move but noticed that the wind swooped up from behind me in small quick needles. In nearly an instant the sand came between Ryuu and I. My needles hit the sand and the electricity burned into the other side of the sand wall. I didn't know what Gaara was trying to do but he seemed to have protected us from each other in a way. Temari sent large blades of wind at Ryuu but even with her speed it was too slow. Ryuu avoided them without effort only to be faced with Kankuro's puppets again. The puppet had tried to shoot poisons darts at him but he avoided those as well only to be caught in Sasori puppet's binding cords.

"Looks like speed is all you have," Kankuro smiled.

His smile didn't last long as he noticed the sparks escaping from in between the bonds. The intensity grew until the bonds then melted and Ryuu was free again.

"You're forgetting that I'm the incarnation of Lightning, there's no way a toy could bind me," he smiled, "I'll make sure you don't forget that again."

Ryuu jutted toward Kankuro who hadn't had the time to react but was protected by the sand.

Ryuu jumped back and glared at Gaara who had his hands held out in different positions. He then was about to attack Gaara when his expression changed.

"It can't be," he said as he looked at his arms.

It's then that I noticed the small cut on his forearm.

Kankuro's smile came back to him, "Binding you was a distraction while one of my puppets shot a needle with a potent poison."

"You," Ryuu shot a furious glare at him.

Suddenly the ground turned to sand beneath him and wrapped around his legs.

I looked at Gaara who had his hands on the ground.

"So the whole thing was a distraction to slow me down enough for this," he glared at Gaara.

The sand continued to curl around his body. When it got to his arm he mustered his energy into his arms but it wasn't enough. It covered him up completely and thickly so the electricity had trouble escaping.

"Sand coffin," Gaara said as the sand tightened.

I knew what this meant and tried not to think about what it would be like to be crushed to death.

"He's resilient," I heard Gaara comment.

I was confused until the sand burst apart. I automatically put my arms up protectively and closed my eyes. When I looked again Ryuu was replaced with a large ball of blue lightning. The lightning then soaked into Ryuu leaving him with a blue glow and blue glowing eyes. I couldn't help the feeling I had inside; the magnetic pull I had with Ryuu was no longer switching polarity but was a constant pull now.

Out of nowhere he erupted in bolts of power that went off in random directions. Ryuu didn't seem to be conscious of what was going on. His expression was that of pure hate and rage.

"Get back!" I heard Gaara yell over the crashes as everyone avoided the massive bolts.

My feet didn't seem like they wanted to move when I heard a crack of thunder and a yell from Kankuro. He was struck with lightning in less than and instant. I didn't know what to do. I knew that some people survived from being struck by lightning but I wasn't sure what kind power this person's lightning had.

Temari was the first person near Kankuro but there wasn't even much time to think. Before I knew it Ryuu was facing me. I knew it only by the magnetic pull, the glowing eyes had directed their hate in my direction.

"Die," Ryuu said in a voice of multiple tones.

I was struck with fear. What an inconvenient time to be paralyzed, but when I thought about, what could I have done? Even with my training I was ill prepared for any kind of fight like this.

The lightning bolt shot out in an instant. I could have missed it if I blinked. The sand made a thick shield in front of me but the bolt kept drilling through it. Gaara just tried to keep up with it by building up more sand. I looked over to Gaara who was still concentrating on the fight at hand.

Ryuu turned his attention to him. He lifted his hand then gathered his lightning chakra. I knew what he was about to do and before I could even think of anything I found myself running in front of Gaara to block the surge of electrical chakra. I didn't know why I did it at all since Gaara had an ultimate defense but all I can say is it was reflex. I didn't even know how I got there so fast.

More wind chakra than I could ever muster before gathered in front of me canceling out the lightning chakra. The attack dissipated as the wind gathered again and released at full force toward Ryuu. It sent me flying backward into Gaara whose sand cushioned the impact. The wind force hurled at Ryuu and sent him flying into a rock with his lightning disappearing around him.

All was silent again except for the sound of a few rocked falling from the indent Ryuu was left in. He had been rendered unconscious. His face was calm and serene when slumped over in the rock.

"Is it over?" I asked getting up.

"He can't move anymore, the poison spread too far," Gaara commented from behind me.

I looked back at him to see him looking over at his brother, which made me follow his line of sight as well. Kankuro had a burned and bleeding mark on his shoulder and was unconscious. Temari was looking after him and already taking care of the wound. I noticed the rise slight rise and fall of his chest and was relieved to know he was still breathing. I was more than glad that he was still alive.

The sound of more rocks falling made me turn my attention back to Ryuu who was about to fall out the indent in the rock when somebody caught him. I was shocked to see a woman there, holding him. Where had she come from? It's as if she just appeared out of thin air. She had long dark brown wavy hair. She wore a red mermaid-style dress with a gold chain around her waist. The dress was pinned up by a gold curly design showing the white underskirt. The chain was a made up of large gold circles clasped together and a ruby in the sun shaped one at the front. Her skin was pale white with deep red lips and dark black eyelashes that cast shadows in her emerald eyes.

"What a pitiful child," she said holding his limp body.

Temari was about to get up and prepare to fight but the woman stopped her, "No need to be hostile, I'm not here to fight."

"What are you here for?" Gaara asked calmly.

She watched him for a moment with her expressionless face, "I am here to simply take the Lightening to my dear one."

"The Lightning? Wait, why do you want Ryuu? Who are you?" I asked.

She looked at me and smiled slightly, "Ah, the Wind, so you proved useful after all. We had underestimated you in Konoha but thank you for taking care of Ryuu for us."

"Kimori was one of yours?" Gaara questioned.

"He was merely a pawn," she looked away from us all, "a useless one at that, easily manipulated. I like it when people put up more of a fight. Well it doesn't matter now, I'm glad he's gone."

I saw both Temari and Gaara's expressions change.

"What do you want with him?" Gaara asked more defensively.

"I think you should already be . . . familiar with that," she smiled in amusement.

The ruby on her belt glowed softly as both her and Ryuu began to disappear like water vapor.

"I look forward to our next encounter," she said before they were completely gone.

It was silent again. Who was that woman? She kept saying 'we' as if there were more. Who was this dear one she was talking about? What did they want with Ryuu?

My thoughts were interrupted by a sound of pain from Kankuro. We all had turned our attention toward him.

"Don't move," Temari told him sternly when he tried to sit up.

He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"What happened to that lightening guy?" he strained to ask.

"You shouldn't be talking, you just had over 200 million volts shot through you," she told him with concern.

I cringed as I saw the large blood soaked wound on his right shoulder. It looked even worse than it did earlier.

"Kumo isn't too far from here," Gaara said when he saw the wound as well.

There was a different tone in his voice.

Temari looked up at him with urgency in her eyes, "It would seem that's our only option."

"Let's go," he simply said as the sand began to curl around Kankuro and me.

"You don't have to do that Gaara," Temari tried to tell him.

"It's fine Temari, I can carry both of them," he assured her before taking off.

I could tell Gaara was concerned for his brother. We traveled faster than we ever did before. I couldn't help but feel at fault for Kankuro's injury. It gave me a twisting feeling in my chest knowing that I got these people involved in my problems. Although I am not sure I would have made it this far without them. I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that I had become so close to them. Close enough for me to worry about them. What surprised me even more is that I had thrown myself in front of Gaara to protect him. What was I thinking? I mean, someone with an ultimate defense doesn't need my help. I suppose I didn't want him getting the same injury as Kankuro.

I watched Gaara as he moved swiftly through the mountain passes. What did Ryuu mean when he called Gaara my familiar? I thought I would find some answers on this journey but all I found were more questions. Although I didn't know if I would obtain all the answers I was looking for there was one I couldn't give up on. I was going to find out why I was here. I needed to keep moving forward, no matter what the obstacles. I needed to be strong.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Yes, that reading minds thing is a real game and it does work on certain people more than others, probably because some people can picture things more clearly than others. If you already knew about that game well all I can say is there are variations of playing it, I adapted it only slightly for story purposes. Just so you know, Aura's group stays in pairs for the most part to make sure that they are not compromised, kind of like a buddy system but if they can they all stay together. I also tried to make a little more fun in this chapter before all the serious things at the end, I felt it balanced things out a little more and got the characters to bond a little. Tonfa-style blades I modeled after Talim's weapons in Soul Caliber II, and coincidentally (because I didn't think of it when I put the weapons in the story) Talim's specialty is wind. Aura's bad feeling in the morning was because of the attack that happened in Kumo even though I won't specify that in the story. A mermaid style dress can be found in any image search engine as well if you would like to see a visual of what that kind of dress looks like. I also want to comment that Ryuu is one of my favorite OC's I'm going to make, although all the elements are my favorites. I hope to explore a little of their pasts as well if I find time, either in the main story or in a short side story. Thank you for reading this chapter and I would really like reviews with any kind of feedback. I'll see you next chapter!

_Edit:_ Sorry to report this but on Sept. 9, 2011 my puppy, my best friend died. Which would be the day after I posted this chapter originally. He was really close to me, I really loved my puppy. It really hurt to watch him die, I always told him I loved him and that he was the cutest in the world. I've become so depressed and pained, so I'm sorry if the next chapter takes a while to come out. I grew up with my puppy, I will miss him so much, we have been through a lot together. I am at a loss of what to do without him. He was extremely friendly, he accepted anyone. He really loved people. I will have a picture of him in my profile soon. His name was Buster and he was a part of my heart.


	5. Chapter 5: Strength Begins in the Heart

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I blame school and work mostly and laziness to a lesser degree. Anyway, this chapter is a long and each chapter I make just seems to get longer. I am also going to ask if anyone has any ideas or things they would like to see in a Gaara x OC story then just tell me, I may be able to put it in the story or some form of it. I am not only writing this story for myself but my readers so I would love to hear what you think and want out of the story. Also, something I noticed is that a lot of my readers are from Australia for some reason. It's just something I noticed and thought was kind of cool. In fact, I find the whole countries thing really interesting in the traffic stats. Oh, I also decided to put a status on updates to this story on my profile so if anyone wants to know the progress of the next chapter, news on it, or when it will be updated then they can go to my profile. I'll update it when I have any news. Also, I don't know but any part of this story can be looked up if you don't know about it. I give references in notes as to where to find some things. For example, if you'd like to get an idea of what Kumo is like, you can look it up on the Naruto wiki. It has lots of information on the Naruto series and I try to stay true to the information provided on Naruto so far. Also clothes, weapons and fighting styles can all be looked up if you'd like to have a better understanding of how these things look or work. I mentioned before about a mermaid style dress and tonfa-style blades and where to find these things. I know I usually like a visual of some things so that is why I provide some way of visual reference. If you'd like any information please ask and I'll answer you directly or in a note.

**Special Thanks:**

Thanks to _nekomata._ I'm sorry to say that the new group won't be seen in this chapter but they will play a bigger part in the next chapter and of course become more important as the story progresses. Right now they are laying low and waiting for their moment.

Thanks to _Toshiro with love_, I really like the one word, it made me smile. Awesome.

Thanks to _ZariGS_. I really appreciate your review and I figured it might not be the best people have ever read, but as long is it is not the worst I'm pretty okay with that. Also, thanks for telling me that I achieved my goals I was striving for, I hope to continue achieving my goals I have planned for this story.

Thanks to _shineon99_, it has been a while since my puppy has died now and I thank you for your condolences and for complimenting my story.

Thanks to _Ninja Star Light_, sorry it wasn't updated really soon but I'm not giving up on this story so be assured that there will be updates.

Thanks to _KuramaMustangElric_ for your four reviews. To answer some of your questions, there are many ways to pronounce things but on a site it said it was pronounced Aura as (Aw-r-uh) or sometimes in my mind it almost sounds more like (Ah-ruh). Gaara should be around 18 in this story and Aura is about 17. All other questions will be answered in time. Thanks for the reviews they made me smile as well and thank you for you condolences and hug, I really appreciate that.

Thanks to everyone that favorited and alerted my stories! It really means a lot to me.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: True Strength Begins in the Heart<strong>

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><p>Kumogakure: Village Hidden in the Clouds. I would have marveled more at the sight of a village built on steep mountain ridges if I wasn't so worried about Kankuro. When we arrived in Kumo they were suspicious of our appearance although having the Kazekage with us proved useful. They took Kankuro to get medical care right away and Gaara had to discuss what happened outside of Kumo with the Raikage.<p>

I was outside Kankuro's room trying to not get in anyone's way by looking out over the balcony. Temari had to stay with me since I needed to be watched at all times although I could tell her attention wasn't on me at all. She was looking over at the room the whole time. We were outside in the hallway that was filled with large windows overlooking the city. We stood there wondering all the while if Kankuro would be okay. It must be hard to be the Kazekage. I'm sure Gaara was concerned about his brother but he had responsibilities and matters he needed to attend to first.

The door opened which made both Temari and I jump a little. A man from Kumo's medical unit came out and was walking up to us.

"How is he?" Temari asked impatiently.

"He will live but there has been considerable damage to his nervous system. The electrical signals between his nerves in a considerable amount of his body had been either cut off or scrambled," the medical ninja told us, "Although the electrical currents that were cut off were easier to connect again, the ones that are scrambled are almost impossible to redirect without absolute precision and risk. We may never be able to fix the damage to those parts of his system. With some therapy though, he may be able to figure out the receptors of the new nerve paths."

I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest at this news and looked down at the ground.

"Is he awake? May we see him?" Temari asked.

I could hear the concern and anger in her voice.

"He may be a little out of it because of the drugs but you may see him," he said, "Follow me."

I tailed behind Temari wondering how I could face Kankuro. As far as I knew, this was entirely my fault. When we entered the room we found Kankuro lying on a white bed with his right shoulder bandaged up and his face paint gone.

As if he could sense when we came in he opened his eyes tiredly and looked over at the door, "Hey Temai, Aura."

We went over to his side but I stayed slightly behind Temari.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

He smirked, "With all these drugs I'm not feeling anything, plus, they said it would take a while before the feeling returns to my limbs."

He then looked around a little more, "Where's Gaara?"

"He's fine," Temari answered, "He's giving a full report about the Elements to the Raikage."

Kankuro acknowledged this with a slight nod of understanding then his eyes laid on me. I felt nervous as the twinge of guilt arose again.

"Hey Aura, glad to see you're alright," he smiled.

This only made me feel worse.

"I'm sorry," I said, I just couldn't hold it back.

He looked confused, "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry you're hurt, if I didn't drag you people on this trip then this wouldn't have happened," I said as I fought back the sting of tears.

"That's not true," he responded, looking offended, "You didn't drag us to do anything; we all voluntarily went on this mission together. Like Gaara said, you're a part of Suna and we look out for each other."

"What do you mean I'm a part of Suna?" I asked.

"I didn't understand it myself until Gaara said it. He seems to understand people more than anyone. He knew you were lonely in a world where you didn't belong anywhere. You entered this world in Suna so it's your home, just as much as it is ours. Or at least that's what I think he meant," he then winced in pain as he must have moved in a way he wasn't supposed to.

I couldn't believe it but he was right. When I thought of it, Suna was like a home to me and these people were my friends but this still couldn't stifle my feeling of responsibility for his wounds when he was in pain.

"Still, I'm so sorry Kankuro," I apologized once more.

"Don't worry about it," he brushed of my apology, "I've had worse injuries than this."

Temari let out a frustrated sigh.

"Excuse me Kankuro," she said before leaving abruptly.

I watched confused as she left furiously.

Kankuro must have seen the perplexed expression on my face as I turned back to him, "Don't mind Temari, she has a hard time trusting people."

"What? So she's angry at me? But why?" I didn't understand what I had done to her.

"She still thinks of you as an outsider, but don't mind her, she's always been like that. She'll come around eventually," he smiled at me.

He must have been on high dosage of the drugs, I could see it in the way his eyes looked, his softened voice and his slow movements. A medical ninja came in and told me that I needed to leave so Kankuro could get some rest. I said goodbye and told Kankuro that I hoped he got better soon. Although I knew with the nerve damage he would never go back to exactly how he was before.

I stepped outside the door and saw Temari looking out at Kumo. She still had the same angered expression from when she left. I decided to keep my distance and wait for her to notice me. I wanted to tell her that there was no reason for her not to trust me but I knew that would be a lie. Ever since I came to this world I had caused trouble, pain, and damage. One of her brothers was badly wounded and another was caught in a strange connection with me. She had every reason not to trust me when I couldn't even trust myself.

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><p>It seemed like I had waited there forever with Temari in silence watching people pass by. We weren't allowed to go anywhere until things were cleared between the Kages. I tried to imagine what was going on between them. Knowing how calm Gaara was and how spastic the Raikage can be, it was sure to be a least a little entertaining. I smiled at the thought of what might be going on between them.<p>

Temari suddenly straightened up and as a reflex so did I. A familiar looking person was walking toward us and surprisingly addressed me.

"The Raikage would like to see you," said a man with blonde hair.

I believed his name might be C if I remembered the series well enough. What a weird name to only be one letter. Of course there were others in this village with one letter names. I wondered what fascination or connection they might have with the Roman alphabet.

Both Temari and I followed him until I started to hear loud noises. We entered the room to find a window and part of a desk damaged. This was the Raikage's office where apparently he had got very upset about something. I knew he had a tendency to overreact about things. A man was standing next to the Raikage looking kind of bored. If I remembered things about Kumo correctly I believed his name was Darui. Gaara was standing with his back to us but when we entered he turned to look in our direction.

The man who came with us made a respective notion, "I've fetched the Wind girl Raikage-sama."

It was weird to be introduced by some other title than my name, as if I was an object or something special. The Raikage was such a big man, it reminded me of how short and small I was.

I felt like everyone was watching me so in my awkwardness I slightly bowed my head, "Nice to meet you Raikage."

"Such a girl being the Wind element," he said as if in disbelief.

"I'm sure you can sense her chakra. It's purely wind element," Gaara said keeping eye contact with the Raikage.

"Odd chakra or not, how do we know she is like the Lightning demon?" he responded.

C had made a hand sign and it looked like he was concentrating for a second then opened his eyes again, "She is like the Lightning demon but there is something different."

Everyone suddenly had given him their attention, including me.

"There is a connection between her and the Kazekage," he continued.

"The bond you were talking about earlier," the Raikage confirmed with Gaara.

"Yes, I told you all we know about the Elements thus far. The bond is still unexplained but if you have any records or information on the Elements then we might find some answers and methods to avoid future incidents from them," Gaara explained.

The Raikage looked suddenly livid but turned his gaze to C who nodded and spoke, "The Lightning demon was able to conceal his chakra with absolute precision. We didn't know he was in the village until he attacked. Those with lightening affiliation had their chakra drained."

Just then the Raikage had got up and smashed part of his desk in less than a second. I jumped in surprise at his short temper. I could tell something had gone on between him and Ryuu. That's when I remembered the message we received in Konoha before deciding to leave for Kumo. They were attacked and the Raikage fought even with his chakra being drained.

"That demon, if I ever get my hands on him he will pay for making a fool out of Kumogakure!" he shouted angrily.

"There is a way we can track him," Gaara said.

This caught the Raikage's attention.

"There is a communication between the Elements and even the ones bonded to them," Gaara explained as I looked at him confused, "I have been trying to concentrate on connecting with the Lightning Element but he seems to still be incapacitated."

Communication? What was he talking about? Was there something about the bond he knew but wasn't telling me?

Everyone else seemed as skeptical about the information as I was.

"I admit that I don't know much about the bond and Elements but if you have any records of their existence it might help us find the Lightning Element and even the others as well," Gaara said with his same calm expression.

All was silent for a while until the Raikage spoke, "Still a bold young Kazekage."

He seemed to smile at this then continued, "I will have all our records searched, until then you are not to leave Kumo."

"Understood," Gaara agreed.

"Darui," he finally addressed the bored looking person by him, "you are going to stay with them while they are in Kumo."

He seemed to be the master of the level expression as much as Gaara because he responded as if it didn't matter, "Right."

The Raikage then looked at Gaara, "That won't be a problem will it Kazekage?"

Gaara stared back at him. There seemed to be something intense going on between them.

"No," Gaara finally answered.

Everyone seemed to make respectful gestures before we left the room. Gaara exited first, Temari second, me third and Darui following behind us not paying much attention to where we were going.

"Gaara," Temari said with concern as she caught up and walked beside him, "You didn't tell anyone about the communication before. Are you sure there aren't any other things about this bond you aren't talking about?"

"I only just noticed it recently," he answered, "but I still don't know much about it. The communication so far is only brief images. If I could get an image of his surrounds then we might be able to tell where he is but at the moment it isn't much use. What matters now is finding out more about our enemy so we are better prepared next time."

Temari was silent. She seemed to be bothered by something.

"How is Kankuro?" Gaara asked.

Her expression went a little sad, "He's . . . alright."

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><p>We had visited Kankuro who still seemed under the influence of the drugs. He acted way too strangely happy to see us. I still felt guilty when they had told Gaara the news about Kankuro's nerve damage but Gaara didn't seem like one to blame me for it. After we left the medical building we ended up taking a walk through the main part of the village to buy some supplies while we were here. This place was much like Konoha when it came to social environment; there were all types of people, stores and things going on. But something else I noticed is that there was a lot more military force around. Everywhere I looked I saw ninjas that looked like they were on duty. Leave it to Kumo to have such a strong military force.<p>

Compared to these villages so far, Suna seemed so small. There weren't as many people and places to go in Suna as there was here or in Konoha. Suna must be one of the more poor villages among the five ninja nations.

Temari was buying some ingredients for poison antidotes and Gaara seemed to be as well. I had got a little distracted looking at everything around me. This really was a remarkably beautiful place. I smiled to myself, thinking that I may not have been able to see this kind of place if I didn't go on this journey. Suddenly I noticed something that intrigued and excited me.

"A bath house?" I had never been to one before and this one actually looked quite large.

Thinking of a nice warm bath made me melt inside and I realized that I hadn't actually bathed in quite some time. I only had to wash what I could in the rivers and lakes when we were traveling since I couldn't be alone. Oh but how a warm bath sounded so good.

"Yeah, that's the Blue Dragon bath house. It's made from one of the main hot springs in these mountains," Darui commented which startled me a little.

I was so caught up thinking about a bath that I didn't notice that he was standing right by me.

"Um, Blue Dragon?" I asked nervously.

"The name comes from the spring which is said to be home to a sleeping dragon, the whole story behind it is kind of dull," he said before looking over behind me.

I turned to see Gaara and Temari walking up to us.

"What's going on?" Temari questioned.

"Oh nothing," I smiled innocently, "I just never saw a bath house before."

She looked over at it and I noticed a sense of longing in her eyes, "Well there's nothing special about a bath house."

Knowing her, she was always one to say things like this were frivolous but I could tell deep down she really wanted a hot bath as well.

"Go on," Darui said as both Temari and I snapped our attention toward him, "I know you'd like to go in and you're here so why not."

"Ridiculous, we shouldn't be wasting our time right now," Temari commented in protest.

"It's fine Temari," Gaara said.

She seemed a little stunned, "But Gaara shouldn't we be-"

"We have more than enough time right now; we don't know how long it might take for Kumo to check all their records. We may be here for a while," he interjected.

She suddenly had no excuse.

"Fine," she said as if she wasn't happy about it, "I suppose I will have to go with her."

Although I knew I couldn't be left alone I was quite happy that she was going to come with me. I didn't want to go into a new place by myself anyway. I was so excited that I almost ran up to the building as we made our way to the bath house.

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><p>I first tied up my hair in a bun but once I began taking off my clothes I started to feel a little awkward. I nearly dove into the water but Temari made her way in more gracefully. Once I was in I felt a lot better and more relaxed in the large hot bath. This water was different than the other baths I had before, the water seemed smooth and slightly thick and gave off a gentle aroma. They must have added salts to all their baths here or oils. Either way I was in a perfectly wonderful state of being.<p>

Neither of the guys had wanted to take a bath. They were just going to wait at the front for us but they really didn't know what they were missing. Come to think of it, how did Gaara stay clean at all? If he controls sand can he just remove dirt from himself easily? I mean, he does wear a layer of sand as armor most of the time. I suppose I got used to him always smelling like sand.

I looked over at Temari who had her eyes closed with a thoughtful expression. She must have sensed my gaze on her because just as I was trying to figure out what she was thinking she opened her eyes and glared at me. I averted my eyes as quickly as possible and pretended that nothing happened. It was like there was a weird tension between Temari and me.

I finally needed to say it, "Temari, I'm sorry. I know you don't trust me but I really do care about you guys and Suna. I didn't mean anyone harm but I would like you to know that I'm sorry."

I bowed my head respectively but I also didn't feel I could look at her scornful eyes.

She was silent for a while then seemed to scoff, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

I looked up at her confused but she was looking off in another direction.

"The only one you have really let down is yourself. If you've harmed anyone due to lack of control you have over your power then gain control over it. If you don't have the strength then gain it. Maybe then you'll be able to protect people you care for instead of harm them," she lectured in her usual tone.

I knew she was right. There were much more things I had to train besides my body. I had to train my mind and even my heart. I had to gain control over myself and even my own thoughts. If I wanted her to trust me, I needed to earn it. I need to be able to trust myself before I could ask for her trust.

In her own harsh ways she showed that she really cared though. I had to respect her for that. I left her alone although she kept looking over at me a little concerned at my thoughtfulness.

"Look," she finally said making eye contact with me, "it's not that I don't like you. You're not a bad person but I have more important things I have to worry about. So I can't trust you just yet."

I smiled, "I understand."

Under her tough facade I knew Temari was a warm person. What she said only made me certain of it.

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><p>The two men stood just outside the bath house where the bustle from the streets contradicted their serious silence. Darui had his eyes closed apparently thinking of something or maybe just meditating. Gaara locked his gaze on the entrance to the bath house although is eyes showed that he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him. They stood with both their backs against the wall with an unnoticeable tension that those that passed by dismissed.<p>

"You know she's a danger," Darui said casually with his eyes still closed.

Gaara didn't reply, but kept his gaze on the bath house.

"If she really is an Element then you know that she holds an unpredictable power, she's a threat to people around her," Darui spoke then looked in the opposite direction of Gaara.

"She doesn't even know how to use her power right?" he glanced over to Gaara who seemed unmoved.

"How well can you say you know her?" he questioned, "Can you really trust her that easily? This could all be an act and she could really be waiting for a time she can catch you off guard."

"I appreciate your concerns but they aren't necessary," Gaara finally spoke not moving from his position one bit, "Aura has been under careful watch since she has arrived."

Darui slightly smiled, "Leave it to the Kazekage to think of everything; putting yourself at risk for your village."

He then closed his eyes again, "But there's something more behind your actions. I could even say you are trying to protect all the villages from something. You know more than you're letting on about these Elements."

"I could say the same for you," Gaara commented finally looking in Darui's direction, "You have more information on the Elements than you let others know."

Darui kept his eyes closed in silence for a while, "I might have heard something about it a long time ago. Of course back then it seemed like only a myth. Heck, maybe even the Blue Dragon is real."

He smiled slightly and looked out into the crowd, "The Raikage and everyone isn't used to this new alliance between the villages yet. Sharing delicate information with another village seems like betrayal, but I don't think he knows what the Elements really mean."

"If the Raikage is still uncertain then why would you share this information with me now?" Gaara asked.

"I don't know," he admitted looking away again, "maybe I'm trying to protect the villages as well."

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><p>Gaara was meeting with the Raikage again today. I had slept so well after my bath last night that I had a hard time getting up in the morning but I was rejuvenated. There was an earthquake or at least I thought there was until someone explained to me that it was a result of intense training. Just picturing the training they were doing made me uneasy. These people really took pride in their strength.<p>

"Gaara," Temari said as he entered the room.

"We're leaving," he stated suddenly then looked at me, "get your things ready."

"What about Kankuro?" Temari asked.

"You're staying here. Aura and I are going to the Island Turtle," he informed her.

She looked surprised, "Why so suddenly?"

"The temple was destroyed during the wars, but they transferred their Element records to a safe location on the Island Turtle. I received permission to access them but only for Aura and I. I need you to stay here with Kankuro," he explained.

She looked reluctant but accepted this, "I understand."

"Aura," he directed at me, "we're leaving right away."

"Oh, right," I said a little confused but I went to gather my things.

The reason Gaara and I left so quickly is that we were catching a boat out to the Island Turtle that was departing that afternoon. I was kind of freaked out because I knew there were larger than normal animals there but I really had nothing to worry about because I wouldn't be alone. I stood on the deck looking out at the ocean with the cool breeze whipping past me. The waves lashing on the sides of the boat as it skidded over the water. Leaning against the railing I closed my eyes and breathed in the salty smell of the ocean.

I heard someone walk by me then stop. I opened my eyes to see Gaara was there looking out at the ocean as well.

I smiled at him, "Hey Gaara, isn't the ocean great? I've only been to an ocean a few times in my life but every time I'm near one it always makes me feel calm."

"Does it?" he said looking at me now.

"Yeah," I answered, "There is something relaxing about the sound of the waves. How many times have you been near an ocean Gaara?"

He lived in a desert so I wondered how many times he had seen an ocean as well.

"Not many," he responded, "I've been on missions near oceans before but I never thought of it as calming."

I wondered why that was but figured that it might just be a matter of opinion.

After some silence I asked, "So why does Kumo keep records on the Island Turtle? I mean, where would they even keep them in a place like that?"

"They keep their most ancient artifacts and sensitive information behind the Falls of Truth. The island moves all the time and has dangerous animals so it makes a perfect hiding place for things they don't want to be found," He explained staring ahead.

"I see," I said looking out at the waves, "It makes sense I guess. They did hide two jinjuuriki there after all."

I saw out of the corner of my eye that he glanced over at me.

"I'm not the only one that seems to be hiding what they know," he commented before walking away.

I looked back and watched him disappear into a doorway. I didn't know exactly what intent he had with that comment but it felt like everyone distrusted me more than ever lately.

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><p>The island looked like a massive fortress when we first arrived. The sea walls were like tall vertical cliffs and spear-like rocks rose from the water. It was an intimidating island to say the least. When we stepped foot on the new land we were introduced to Motoi. He must be a guide to this island. Meeting him in person he seemed a bit strange but he was a nice person. It was the large beasts that I was really worried about.<p>

I was extremely glad that he fed us before we went to our destination. I could tell that Gaara really wanted to leave quickly until he found out that Motoi spent time with Naruto and B on the island. I had made a lot of casual conversation during the meal.

"Thanks so much," I said to him after I had finished my food.

The dishes here were a bit strange but I was too hungry to really care. It actually tasted pretty good.

"So why do you stay on this island?" I asked out of curiosity.

This seemed to catch him off guard, "Well it's a long story but I came here on a mission before and I just didn't want to leave so I took the position to watch this place."

"How come you wanted to stay?" I questioned further.

He seemed like he thought of something sad but answered, "Many things but I thought it was a great place to train and I really like the animals."

He liked the animals? The animals were huge and dangerous here. Well, I guess he learned to live with them.

Gaara got up from his chair, "May you lead us to falls now?"

I looked from him to Motoi and both seemed to be seriously staring at each other. All my work to make a casual conversation was over already.

Motoi nodded, "Right, please follow me."

I got up quickly and followed them both as we all moved quickly across the island. I had to be on Gaara's sand although I was starting to feel bad that I could not keep up with them without help. There wasn't much talking on the way there which was a little awkward and made it seem like it took forever to get to the falls. The gentle roar of falling water, the smell of damp earth and the white mist rolling off the water made the place look almost mystical. I saw the little island in front of the waterfall and wondered if we would have to meet our dark side to enter. When I really thought of it though, there were those that entered without doing that.

"The entrance is behind the falls," Motoi said looking at the cascading water.

"Aura," Gaara said and I turned my attention toward him.

I must have been in awe at the falls because I didn't notice he had gotten so close to the waterfall.

"Oh," I could tell he wanted me to follow him.

I ran over to the edge of the pool by him but I didn't know how we were going to get behind the falls until Gaara picked me up. I was stunned and let out a small noise when he did this but I soon understood why he had to pick me up. Gaara was walking on the water, something I didn't know how to do and we were about to go through the falls. Even if he used his sand to carry me, the water would have washed it away.

I felt weird being so close to Gaara. I had only just realized that a lot a people probably had never gotten this close to him before. His sand always seems like a barrier between him and everyone else. Although his social barriers had gone down he physical barriers still seemed to be there.

Motoi went through the falls first then Gaara and I followed. I braced myself for the impact of the water but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The inside seemed a lot cooler and darker than the outside. Gaara placed me on the steps where I was greeted by headless statues and a vast room with a mural of the two-tailed and the eight-tailed beasts.

I scanned my surroundings trying to take everything in but it was such a large area.

"The room should be to the left up ahead," Motoi stated as Gaara and I followed once again.

I looked over at Gaara as we walked and was astonished to see that he didn't have his sand armor on like he normally did. I expected that his armor would get dark from being doused with water but his hair and clothes were a normal type of damp.

I wondered why he didn't have his armor on but I concluded that maybe he did have his armor still but it just wasn't like I thought it would be.

The ruins themselves were interesting and impressive but smelled damp and old. There were even plants growing from the walls.

"Here is where we keep the records and artifacts from the old Element temple," Motoi stated as we arrived at a stone door with a lightening, fire, rock, and wind design carved on the surface.

"How does it open?" Gaara asked.

Motoi seemed sheepish when answering, "I'm not exactly sure, there are usually switches to open each door, but I haven't found any for this one."

"What? You mean we came all the way here and we can't open the door?" I admit this sounded a little whiny but I was feeling a little cold from being drenched earlier.

"It seems we will have to look for the switch," Gaara stated simply.

We all began to search diligently. Motoi searched the area across the hall and the floor, Gaara searched the wall and area around the door and I took the liberty of feeling on the door for the switch. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for but I put pressure on all the grooves I could find and when my hand touched the wind design it caused me to flinch and back away. The design shone with a dull green light for a second then the door slowly slid to the side revealing a large room inside. The other two seemed just as astonished as I was. We all stood there in silence for a few seconds after the door locked into place completely open.

"Well I guess that works," I said nervously.

We all approached the pitch dark room cautiously but just as Gaara and I cleared the threshold the door closed suddenly behind us leaving Motoi outside. I quickly turned around and tried to do what I had done outside to open the door but it didn't work. It was too dark to see anything and I pounded my fists on the stone door as if it would help in opening it. I also yelled but I could hardly hear Motoi's voice on the other side of the thick stone.

A light then lit the room with a moderate glow.

"Aura," Gaara said to get my attention.

I turned around to see the room had an electric current running through some lines in the wall illuminating the new space. There were all kinds of drawings on the walls and what seemed like a bookshelf full of scrolls on the other side of the room. Though the murals on the walls were what caught my attention the most. They seemed to be brought to life in the glow of the electric current.

Gaara was looking at the walls as well; they seemed to tell a story. There were pictures of five different individuals surrounded by different elements. The Elements clashed together making what looked like the world and other murals showed how the clashes between the Elements caused devastation. Near the end of the murals it showed the Elements with what looked like other people who shared the same element and then others as well. It all seemed really confusing.

"Aura, over here," Gaara called to me.

While I was examining the walls he had taken the liberty to look at some of the scrolls.

"These have been translated from the old scripts," he told me.

"What do they say?" I asked.

"There's a lot about the history of the Elements but there are many more scrolls here," he looked up at the shelves which made me follow his gaze.

He was right, there were so many scrolls.

"I guess we'll just have to look through them all," I stated before grabbing one off the shelf.

For a while we really didn't think of getting out of the chamber but concentrated on searching for the information we came for. There were a lot of things I didn't understand written on the scrolls. Even if they were translated and simplified they talked about a lot of things I didn't know about from this world and also a lot of it was about Kumo. It's to be expected that most of the records in Kumo would be about the area and how the Lightning Element originated in this country.

Some of the scrolls were plain old text and history while others were studies made from research on the old scripts. A lot of scrolls told of the Elements and how they lived much like regular humans did. They seemed to be born at random over the years to random families. Although it could not be concluded that an Element was a hereditary trait, it still seemed that Elements were more likely born in families that had the Element in it. They also concluded in the scripts that Elements were not reincarnations of the same person because all Elements born were quite different in appearance and varied in gender. There were also very rare times where an Element child was born while the same Element was still alive.

Although throughout all the scripts it told of great wars between the Elements and the reason they scattered to different dimensions in order for peace to reign. Even though, I knew peace was a fragile thing as I thought of all the wars in this world and mine.

I sighed as I picked up yet another scroll and as I opened it I knew I found something interesting, something that would be helpful to our situation.

"Gaara," I called to him as I set the scroll down on a table-like stone.

He looked up from his scroll and down at the one I laid out.

"It's about Familiars," I told him.

I knew he'd be interested in this as well considering this is what he seemed to be connected to me as.

When I knew I had his full attention I read it aloud, "Familiars are those contracted to the Element. Though there is no real visible connection, the bond between an Element and Familiar is speculated to be soul related. Familiars are essential to an Element living a regular live as it seems that the Familiar regulates the power of an Element. The Familiar acts as a buffer between the Element's power and the world around them. Without a Familiar, Elements can often live hundreds of years with power at a much higher and uncontrollable level, causing damage to those around them and even themselves. Thus, Familiars play and important role in an Element's power control. These people have been known to share abilities to a limited extent with the Element they are contracted with."

There was so much more information on Familiars and as I read I could tell by how close Gaara was to me that this was information that he wanted to know as well. It was then that the sound of something big pounded on the door of the room causing it to shake. I lost my footing and had to clutch the stone table to keep from falling.

The door abruptly burst open in pieces and as the dust cleared Motoi stood with a large bear-like animal next to him.

"Are you guys all right?" he yelled.

I was leaning over the table too astonished to say anything but Gaara was standing as if nothing had happened.

Motoi ran in the room to see both of us with scrolls sprawled around randomly from the quake he made.

"What happened?" he asked both of us.

I regained my composer before answering, "We found what we were looking for."

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><p>When we had got back to Motoi's place we explained to him that we had found the records of the Elements we were looking for. Luckily for us, even though the records weren't supposed to be removed from the room they had to be moved for safety because of Motoi's rescue act. It seemed like that all we did for a day was look over scrolls but no matter what information they held, there was no information on why they were being brought back to this dimension now or even how a bond was made between a Familiar and an Element.<p>

There were still a lot of unanswered questions but I can't say that the journey wasn't fruitful. There was actually a lot we learned about the Elements and I had to remember to thank the Raikage for allowing us to view them.

After we had gone through the scrolls more times than I can remember, Gaara told me we were going to train on the island for a while. I didn't understand why at first until he told me we should try to experiment with the bond and this would be the perfect place to do it. I suppose it was best because there weren't any people to harm on this island but I still could tell that the bond intrigued Gaara.

Each day we went out to different parts of the island to train. The only exception to this training was that it was to sync our bond. This was a concept found in a scroll on Familiars. Considering the abilities and beneficial attributes the bond had it was to our advantage to be able to use it to its full potential. Most of the training consisted of me using my power and seeing if Gaara could do the same. We also found out through training that is was easy for either of us to sense where the other was. We could also sense how the other was feeling at times. I suppose we were able to do this before but we simply dismissed it up until now. That kind of ability can be mistakenly identified as intuition.

Even though Gaara had some control over the wind power I put off it seemed I had way more control over him. I had never really tried to do it before so I never noticed how I could actually control his sand to some extent. I wasn't a master of it like he was but at least I could stop it from moving or suppress his sand ability altogether. I also was able to share images from my mind to his more than he could to me. Although the training was doing well, all of the bond abilities seemed like they were forced and less synced than we hoped. In the script they had said the abilities between the Familiar and Element were flawless and shared almost to an equal extent. What was wrong with what we were doing?

Today we set out to a lake that had natural stone pedestals growing out from the water. He had me stand on one while he stood on another facing me. I was supposed to try to attack with wind and suppress his abilities as he tried to knock me off the small pedestal I stood on.

"Hey can we stop for a second?" I pleaded as I nearly lost my balance from one of his sand attacks.

The sky was grey overcast and looked darker each second. A rolling thunder rumbled overhead.

"What's wrong?" he asked from his pedestal.

"Isn't it kind of dangerous to be near water when there's a lightning storm?" I questioned.

I had only seen a few flashes from far off but it looked as though they were getting closer each minute. The wind even began to pick up more dramatically as the sky got darker.

He looked up at the clouds then back to me, "A few more times then we'll head back for today."

I was glad I got him to compromise and decided that I would finish the next few exercises quickly.

His sand came at me as I concentrated on suppressing his chakra. I felt a drop of water on my face then my arm then my back. In an instant there was a downpour. The wind swept past me violently bringing with it large waves of water droplets. With the feel of the wind I decided this was my best time to send a counter attack. The gust would disguise wind abilities so I sent a few wind blades at him using my weapons. I could hardly see him through the rain and dark surroundings but I was surprised as he suddenly disappeared. I expected him to appear again out of nowhere for a surprise attack but all I heard was a splash from the lake below.

The sound of the wind and thunder grew louder but there was no sign of him. What happened? Was he in the water? I felt panicked. Why was I so uneasy? Gaara was okay. He was always okay right?

It was then I felt a weird sensation and images of being under that dark water flashed in my head.

Was he drowning?

I looked down at the water but couldn't see anything with the heavy rain. What was I going to do? I felt frantic as I searched the water with my eyes but I knew I was a little too nervous to concentrate completely. That's when I made the decision to go in. I scrambled to throw off anything heavy on me like my weapons and dived in.

The water didn't seem as cold as the rain. I opened my eyes and swam over to where Gaara's pedestal was. I resurfaced for air then dived again when I saw something red below me, I swam down in the dark water to find Gaara covered in mud. His sand armor must have come off with the water. I hastily grabbed onto him trying to pull him up. No wonder he sank, he was so heavy. I figured it must have been from all the sand and the gourd. I cut the gourd off of him using one of my kunai as the need for air tightened my lungs. I had to get him to the surface quick. I grabbed him once again and swam as best I could to the surface. I burst out of the water coughing and gasping. It was still raining hard as I made my way to the side of the lake. Dragging him up on shore I then leaned over him.

"Gaara!" I called to him but he didn't respond.

I put my ear to his chest and listened for a heartbeat. Luckily there was one but it didn't seem like he was breathing. I didn't know exactly what to do but I decided to improvise from what I had seen before. I opened his mouth and blocked his nose as I breathed air in him then pressed upward on his stomach then continued to repeat this action hoping it would help. I was starting to feel desperate until I was breathing in his mouth again and he spat up water coughing. He sat up suddenly still coughing and spitting out water.

I tried to stop him from moving so much, "Gaara you shouldn't get up so quickly. Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"

He opened his eyes and looked straight at me. This is when I noticed the awkward position I had put myself in. I had placed myself over him even after he sad up and our faces were close enough to feel each other's breath. His sand armor was gone and we were both soaking wet. I felt my face get warm and only hoped I wasn't blushing. I just couldn't find the strength to look away from him. This was just him, no sand armor or anything. His eyes really were something unique.

Lightning cracked and lit up the area. This was enough to snap me back to my senses as I moved away from him and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to drown," I apologized.

"You were able to suppress my chakra completely, that was the point of our training," he said as I glanced back up at him to see he was looking at the sky that rumbled with thunder.

"You were even able to pull me out of the water," he added.

"Yeah, but if I didn't-" I began but he interrupted me.

"Thank you," I didn't expect to hear that from him.

He looked over at me and I looked away again. He then got up and in response so did I. I was still a little worried about his condition but he seemed as resilient as ever. The rain had lightened up a little now.

"We'll continue our training tomorrow," he stated before beginning to walk in the direction of Motoi's house.

I couldn't help but stand there and stare at him. He acted as if he didn't just almost die. Although I guess he had many near death experiences in his life. He even admitted I saved him and thanked me. He was only human after all but there was something else bothering me. What was I feeling when I looked in his eyes?

I ran to catch up with him and to make sure he was okay but I couldn't bring myself to look directly at him. I felt almost embarrassed thinking of how close I had been to him. I needed to distract myself with something or anything at all because I was afraid to even get close to the thought of what just happened.

* * *

><p>I had trouble sleeping after that incident. Every time I closed my eyes I could see his sea foam eyes staring back at me. Training had become more serious but the bond seemed to be weaker than usual and didn't work as well. I didn't even talk to him much after that. I didn't want him to think I was mad at him though so I would smile and try to answer things normally. I could tell that he knew something was going on with me but I tried my best to hide it.<p>

The fact was that I didn't even know what was going on inside me. I felt like I was in such turmoil. It was like I couldn't concentrate on anything.

I decided that I would do it. Ever since I saw the Falls of Truth the idea was stuck in my mind. I wanted to meet the darker side of me. I found it a really intriguing concept but when I first saw the falls I didn't feel I was in any need for them because most of my questions were about things I didn't know. Now I found that I was questioning myself more than ever. I needed some way to find out what was wrong with me.

I wondered if I could leave by myself. I was never by myself for a long time since I arrived here. Still, I needed to be alone. I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing. When I went to the bathroom I snuck out the window. Not very original but still it was a classic move. I stole away toward the woods then ran as swiftly as I could to my destination. It was times like this I was glad I had a great sense of direction. Spending time on this island I had come to know the way to a few places and we had gone to the falls a few times before.

When I reached the falls I looked around suspiciously trying to sense if anyone had followed me but it seemed all was well. I approached the pool in front of falls where the small island platform rested in the middle. I waded my way over to it slowly and then sat down. I wasn't sure what to do but I guessed I had to meditate. I sat there and closed my eyes for a while trying to clear my mind and be still but it was harder than I thought.

When I was finally able to clear my mind and be still I had no idea of time. It could have been hours or minutes before I heard a sound from the falls.

"So you've finally come," said a voice much like my own.

I opened my eyes reveal someone that looked like me only with cold expression.

I stood up to face this person, "I'm guessing you're my darkness or something like that."

"Something like that," the other me responded, "but it's stupid of you to come to see me over something so trivial. You know how you feel; you're just not willing to admit it."

"Admit what?" I asked.

"Always playing dumb I see. I guess I'll have to spell this out for you. You fell in love with Gaara but you can't admit that you would love someone that is not supposed to exist at all. And you are afraid that he wouldn't return your feelings."

I flinched. I wanted to deny her words but I knew I couldn't. I opened my mouth to say something but I couldn't.

"You act like such a child," the other me said scornfully, "You freak out over things like love. You may train but you really don't try as much as you could. And you wonder why people don't trust you? You hide your true self from everyone. You can't accept what you are and become a burden to everyone around you."

I felt taken aback by her words, "What do you mean? I train to my limits, I try to do the best I can and I'm not hiding anything."

She laughed, "Really? You are still denying everything? You really are quite pathetic."

I glared at her and my hands automatically drifted toward my weapons.

"So you want to fight huh?" she said before going into a fighting stance, "I'll show you what I'm really capable of."

She charged at me using wind to create a speed I could hardly keep up with. I blocked her attack only to be hit by another one. I crashed on the ground and winced in pain. While looking up at her I rubbed my side where she hit me. How could this person be me? She was way too fast and the hit hurt like heck.

She stood over me and smirked, "Down for the count already? I can't say I expected more from you though."

Who knew my darkness was so cocky and insulting.

"I'm not as weak as you think I am," I growled at her.

I readied myself and lunged at her with my weapons drawn. I released a chain of attacks with wind power charged in them but she dodged them all. She suddenly dropped her weapons and caught my arms.

This stunned me and she smirked, "Like I said, pathetic. Don't you dare come back to see me until you grow up a little."

She then quickly positioned a palm so it aimed at my stomach and shot a concentrated amount of razor sharp wind through me. I screamed out in pain and fell backwards. As suddenly as it happened I didn't feel so much pain anymore. I opened my eyes and saw no one around. I looked down at my stomach to see nothing there.

I realized that I must have broken my meditative state. I hit the ground, angry with myself. The darker part of me was right. Every time I took a step forward I took two steps back. I really was pathetic. If that person was me then I was capable of much more than I was allowing myself to achieve yet I was holding myself back. She was right that I had trouble accepting things like the fact that I was an Element, that I no longer lived in my own world and even the way I felt.

I got up and brushed myself off when I sensed someone.

"How long have you been there?" I asked glancing over at Gaara.

He was standing at the edge of the forest watching me. I guess all that Familiar training was good for something. He successfully evaded even my detection.

"I followed you here," he stated.

I sighed while thinking that I really must seem stupid. I waded through the water back toward him. I didn't want to look at him but enough was enough. As soon as I walked past him I stopped.

"It's true; I have been hiding things from you. As you might have guessed, I know a lot more about this place than I let on. I know a lot about you, about Naruto, people of the Leaf, the Sand and other villages, everyone. I know I had played stupid for a while now but I'd like to say I'm sorry. I think one reason our bond wasn't working so well is that I was hiding myself, but I won't do that anymore. I'll accept that I am the Element of Wind and have responsibilities in this world. I won't be a side character in my own life anymore. I have things I want to protect as well."

I started walking again. I'd prove my darker side wrong. I wouldn't be pathetic anymore. I'm going to train to my fullest and protect myself and those around me. I refused to be useless. I was going to become the main character of my own life's story.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Just so you know, Aura goes through learning and relearning like this because it seems realistic that people sometimes relapse into old ways and even resolutions become weak at times. In most stories people change after one event, usually a traumatic one. Although I believe that traumatic events can change people sometimes it is not a full change so they need to go through and learn things again and again sometimes until it finally sinks in. This I can say is Aura's case, she didn't have a need to be very strong in her life so she has had 17 years of being passive. Habits are hard to break but as it has been said, you can't go down the rabbit hole expecting to come out unchanged. In the next chapter there will be a noticeable change in Aura's character. I promise she won't become annoying or anything, but I can say she will be a stronger person. I also tried to make Gaara seem a little more human, he had as much a chance of drowning as anyone. What Aura didn't realize at the time is that she really could do a lot more than see was letting herself be capable of. On another note, I believe I need an editor. I just can't seem to fix everything on my own. If anyone would like to help you can just send a message. I also would like to have some art made at some point, probably when the story is more than half over and most of the characters have been introduced. I will also have some polls and other things as the story progresses. Just tell me of any ideas if you'd like. I would even like to hear what you think might happen. I think that would be really interesting. Until the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6: In Pursuit of the Earth

**Spirited Away: Wind and Sand**

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><p><strong>Notes:<strong> Wow, It really has been a while. I couldn't even explain the abundance of things that went on in the past year. Just know the Year of the Dragon turned out to be quite a year of changes. I'm happy I was able to get this chapter out finally, because I had been struggling with it for a while now, a long while. It's one of those chapters I'm not completely happy with but it does progress the story to the points I'm really looking forward to writing. For all those who think writing is easy, it is not. It's fun, enjoyable and I completely love it, but it's not exactly easy. Maybe that is the reason I love it so much. Although I didn't write the next chapter to this story until now I did get five or six chapters of my other stories out and the artwork finished for this one. Sorry for the wait and I hope I can make up for it. I'm sure everyone will be looking forward to the next chapter where the real action begins!

**Special Thanks:**

_Please thank _**_nicetsukichi at deviantART_**_ for making the beautiful cover art for this story! Her art was well worth the cost and is available for full view from the links on my profile as well as a few sketches. All credit to the fantastic art goes to nicetsukichi, original character design credit goes to me of course._

Thanks to _Shadow Realm Triforce_ for the multiple reviews. The enthusiasm in your reviews really makes me smile and I hope you will like this one as well but best things are really yet to come.

Thanks to _Toshiro with love_, although the confession doesn't come up in this chapter something like that can't stay in for long. The real question is does Gaara care for her like she does for him or is it a different type of relationship like one between a teacher and a student? This the the constant question Aura is worried about.

Thanks to _KHandFF7fanforever_, I am so glad you grasped this concept in the story. I really felt that people learning a lesson so quickly in stories was kind of unrealistic. I mean, is everyone really that strong? Does everyone really learn that fast? I know a lot of people where a lesson never really seems to sink in. Though, we can all be stuck in old habits that are hard to break. On the other hand some people can be more open to change in certain aspects of their lives.

Thanks to _mangaballetgirl_, your review made me smile and it really means a lot to me to hear that.

Thanks to _x-Beyond-B_ for your review. Thanks for helping me move on with this story.

Thanks to _aaroniteXkryptonite_ for your inspiring words. :P

Thanks to , I am truly sorry it took so long. I hope you are still reading and know I really want to continue this story and if there is a will there is a way.

Thanks to _Delightfully Tacky_ for so much. Funny story is that I was driving early into work recently and saw this review and decided to read it. A smile snuck its way on my face as my eyes scanned the long review. I was glad to get a detailed feedback on why someone actually liked my story. So much in fact that it really pushed me to finish this chapter that I have been working on for quite some time. On another note, I'm glad you like Aura. I wanted a truly dynamic character, one that can change over time and learn. Although Aura is a bit more competent with her fighting in this chapter she still has a long way to go. Thanks for the compliment on my name. The story behind that is when I was around ten or so I had to make up a screen name on the spot while my mom was setting up accounts on AOL. Ever since then I have received a lot of compliments on it.

Thanks to everyone who alerted and favorited this story and I hope to hear from you in the reviews!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: In Pursuit of the Earth<strong>

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><p>Gaara and I stepped off the boat and made our way casually into the village of Kumo. It was strange to be back in crowds of people again. Our return marked the renewal of the journey to find the Elements. This time I was more prepared than ever for what was ahead of us. After that night at the falls I committed myself fully to my training. There was no way I was going to be useless anymore. I also decided to share everything I knew with Gaara, including what I knew of his past. This resulted in us talking about ourselves more to each other. It proved to be the key in strengthening the bond between us. I was sure I wasn't the same person I was before I departed to the Island Turtle.<p>

Although I was working to address the issues with myself there was one I was leaving for later. I still hadn't told Gaara about how I felt. I decided to put this feeling on the back burner for a while because I had other priorities at the moment. What was important now was finding the Elements and figuring out where Ryuu went. We also needed to find out who that person was that took him. Could it be that woman in the dress was up to something? What could she possibly want with Ryuu or the other Elements? Were there others like her out there?

We rounded a corner on the way to the room we were staying in before we left for the island just as Temari was leaving.

She turned away to from the door to walk in our direction when she stopped.

"Gaara?" She said with surprise.

We both stopped as well and although she addressed only Gaara I decided to smile and greet her, "Hey Temari."

I suppose my greeting had prompted him to say something as well, "Temari."

Her expression changed to that of annoyance, "It's about time you got back. Did you find the records?"

"Yes," Gaara answered.

"And we also trained," I added.

She seemed stunned, "Trained?"

"Where's Kankuro?" Gaara asked, "it would be more efficient if we explained this to you both at once."

Temari's eyes drifted to the side as she answered, "He's been training as well."

Temari led us to a training area where when I laid eyes upon him I was amazed. He was training with his puppets and was moving them swiftly as if nothing was wrong with him.

"This is his idea of physical therapy. As soon as he learned to walk again he started training," Temari explained.

Kankuro's right arm suddenly jerked spastically and the puppet dropped. He held his right arm looking as if he was in some pain.

"Dammit," he cursed, "I still can't get that attack right."

"Kankuro!" I called to him and waved.

He looked up and smiled, "Well look who decided to show their faces again."

"Well it looks like somebody has been busy," I commented smiling at him.

I was glad to see he was doing better. I wasn't going to blame myself anymore.

"Look who's talking. What's with the new getup anyway?" he asked.

It's true that I changed my clothing. I had on white shorts that where tied just above my knees and a grey long shirt that was much like a tunic. I also had some white armor around my midsection. It was much like the clothing worn in Kumo although that is where I got it anyway.

"Oh yeah this," I said rubbing the back of my head and looking down at my wardrobe, "I had cut up and damaged my other clothing kind of badly during training so I needed a replacement."

"So you guys have been training too?" he questioned.

"It's because of the bond," Gaara answered.

He then went on to explain all the information we found on the Elements but that we still had no idea why they were appearing now. He also explained the situation of the bond between him and I. He said how the bond might be essential in controlling my power and useful in finding the other Elements.

"We came back because we have a new lead," Gaara explained, "Yesterday I was successful in finding an image in Ryuu's mind. It seems he is moving through the Land of Hot Water."

"Then that's our next destination," Kankuro stated with determination.

"Even though the Lightning Element is dangerous it's more important that we find the next Element and prevent another disaster from happening," Temari interjected.

"The Land of Hot Water is on the way to the Land of Stone. We will investigate while we are on our way there," Gaara compromised.

Everyone seemed satisfied with this plan and we prepared to embark on a journey to the Land of Stone. Gaara had gone to discuss things with the Raikage as well as send a message to the Tsuchikage. While he was gone we finished up the rest of the preparations for travel without much talking and went to meet up with Gaara at the gate. Unlike before I was ready for this part of the journey.

Gaara appeared sooner than I thought, "Everything is taken care of. Time to move out."

"Thanks for remembering to thank the Raikage for me," I smiled at him.

"Wait," Kankuro looked a little confused, "how would you know if he thanked him for you?"

"Oh, it's just part of the bond abilities," I said almost sheepishly.

Kankuro and Temari shared a glance before he responded, "That's going to be hard to get used to."

"Let's get moving," Temari changed the subject, "the sooner we reach our destination the better, we don't want our enemy make it there first."

We all then became a little more serious and with in an instant we were gone. This time I was keeping up with them on my own.

"Hey," Kankuro looked over at me while we were moving swiftly through the mountains, "When did this happen? You can keep up now? What kind of training did Gaara have you do on that island?"

"Well I can't give Gaara all the credit, I did some training on my own as well. I wanted to be able to keep up if not surpass those around me" I smirked at him.

"Really?" he said almost deviously, "well then keep up with this."

He then took off at a faster pace and I quickened mine as well to compete with this implied challenge.

Temari just sighed and yelled to both of us, "Don't wear yourselves out, you're going to need to keep your stamina up if we're going to make it to our destination on time."

Too bad we really didn't hear Temari from the distance we gained.

"Temari," Gaara said as he was traveling by her, "There is something I need you to do for me."

Temari knew that serious tone in her brother's voice and as she listened to his request she knew that they were in for something very difficult ahead.

"Understood," she responded firmly as they caught up to the rest of their party.

* * *

><p>We stopped to rest in a grassy valley. There was a small river flowing down the mountain and we would follow it for a while on to our destination but for now we were just taking a break. I decided to practice some of the techniques I learned on the island by the waterside. There is no way I would stand to lose at this point.<p>

"You seem different," Kankuro said breaking my concentration and making me jump.

I was so used to being able to sense if Gaara was near that I couldn't sense when others got near.

"You startled me," I admitted smiling at him and sheathing my weapons.

He kept examining me in a curious manner.

"What?" I asked feeling a little self conscious.

"There is definitely something different about you," he responded now crossing his arms, "I just can't figure out what it is yet."

I just brushed it off and decided to joke with him, "Well I did change my clothes after all."

He then smirked, "I guess you didn't change much after all. You're still the same short alien I remember."

"Short?" I questioned confused.

Now I knew he was just teasing me. I was actually glad to have Kankuro around again. He added a lighter air to things.

"How about a training match?" he offered still keeping the light mood.

"Sounds good to me," I said unsheathing my weapons and readied myself, "but I won't go easy on you."

"I would say the same," he responded.

He just seems as excited and playful as me as he got ready to fight as well. I not only wanted to test my own skills but also to see how his recovery had come along. Then the moment I was waiting for came, he summoned one of his puppets from the scrolls. That's when I took my chance and charged at him with great speed. Apparently this puppet was Crow. Either he liked this one or was the most familiar with it but knowing my opponent was to my advantage. Crow was an offensive puppet and would be hard to deal with.

I sent some blades at it as a distraction for my real plan. Since puppeteers were long range fighters all I had to do was get close to Kankuro and I would surely win. If I learned anything from my training it was that I didn't need to out power my opponent but out smart them. The only problem was how I was going to get close enough to him for an attack.

Crow was fast and avoided my blades with ease then detached some parts of it's body and surrounded me with oddly shaped sharp objects. I whirled around avoiding them in a way I can only explain must have looked like an intense dance. The head then sent needles at me as a last attack that I avoided by skipping backward then send air blades at the parts which totally missed.

"Looks like your training was all defense with no offense. You can't even hit one of them," he commented cockily.

"I'm not aiming at your puppet," I commented letting go a few more blades as the parts of the puppet fell to the ground.

"What the-" he said stunned.

I smiled a little cockily myself, "I was aiming for the chakra strings."

I then made my charge again. This was too easy, there had to be some trick up his sleeve or did he really not expect me to get this close to him. Either way I had to go in for the kill but even though I trained to be able to do this I didn't actually ever hurt anyone before. This thought made me hesitate and I stopped my weapon before it hit him. He only smirked which made me feel like something was off about him but it was too late.

"Wrong choice," he said.

Within an instant this Kankuro had revealed himself to be the Black Ant. I didn't get to react before I was trapped inside the puppet. The pieces of Crow then picked up again. Kankuro had hidden himself somewhere else during the fight and summoned another puppet. The pieces of Crow gathered around and acted as the weapons for a very cruel attack. Being trapped in the Black Ant I had no where to go. I had to only wait for the inevitable end. Though, nothing had happened yet.

"Jeez to think you would fall for that," Kankuro walked up to the puppet.

"You should have finished me off when you had the chance," he said as he went and opened the Black Ant himself.

"What?" he exclaimed, surprised to find that there was only a piece of wood in the Black Ant.

I placed a kunai on his neck from behind, "And you should have finished me off."

At the last moment I switched places with some jutsu I have learned on the island. Though unlike my wind abilities, jutsus used my own chakra and tired me out more quickly. I always avoided using them if I could.

"It looks like you really did improve," Kankuro complimented.

I felt something cold then slide around my neck from both sides.

"But you still have far to go," he turned his head slightly to look back at me.

The Sasori puppet had scythe-like weapons crossed around my neck. He had summoned a third puppet when he was hiding.

Though Kankuro joked around with me a lot he really meant business when fighting. I had only figured out that his tough guy act wasn't and act at all, he really was quite tough to fight.

I smiled and lowered my weapon and so did he.

"The whole point of stopping here was to rest, you two are incorrigible," Temari scolded as she returned with Gaara.

"Sorry Temari," I apologized putting away my weapons.

"Come on Temari, don't tell me you weren't wondering how Gaara trained her," Kankuro argued as his puppets were summoned back to their scrolls.

"I don't need to wonder," she retorted, "Gaara's and excellent teacher."

"I wasn't implying that he wasn't," Kankuro argued back.

I listened to their sibling dispute and smiled warmly feeling content. I really missed those two. Gaara who was listening to them as well looked over at me, probably because he felt my joy at seeing them fight.

He then turned his attention back to his siblings, "She has improved but it isn't all my doing. She has a strong will of her own."

Temari and Kankuro stopped their bickering and looked at him not used to him having much input in their fights but he did, on occasion, stop them. I on the other hand was flattered and felt my face become a little warm.

"So that's what's different about her," he realized smiling at me now, "I could tell when fighting you that you had a will to win."

Temari just looked up toward the sun," It's time for us to move out if we are going to make it to the next town by dark."

She was always good at changing the subject when it came to me. It was like she was avoiding me and even Kankuro could tell this time as he looked at her suspiciously. It was too oddly silent as we started traveling again. I could tell Kankuro was trying to analyze his sister while Temari was just concentrating on her destination. Gaara, well Gaara is just generally silent and I didn't want to be the one to break the awkward silence either.

Travel was almost painful and time went by sluggishly until dusk was creeping in. I knew we had to be no where near our destination. As expected we stopped near a grove of trees to camp for the night and built a fire rather quickly. The only problem now is we didn't have any water within sight.

"I spotted a small creek a while back," Kankuro said while placing another piece of wood on the fire.

"And you didn't think to get any water when you saw it," Temari criticized.

"What are talking about? There were a lot of rivers and lakes on our way here. Was I suppose to stop at every one?" Kankuro argued.

"Well since you spotted it, you're going to have to be the one to go get the water," Temari argued back.

Everyone was a bit tired and cranky at this point. We did make a lot of progress after all. If I was painfully soar, I couldn't imagine what everyone else felt like. Although this was a perfect oportunity to prove that I could be a working part of the team.

"I'll go get the water," I said loudly and stood up.

The two stopped and looked at me a bit surprised.

"I'll go with her," Gaara stood up as well.

That's right, someone had to be with me all the time. I was just getting so used to the freedom on the Island Turtle that I kept forgetting this fact. We took the containers for water and set out back to the creek Kankuro saw on our way here. As Gaara and I sped through the trees I couldn't help but reflect on how quiet Gaara has been since we left the island, granted he was usually quiet, but it's just something hard to explain. It could also be that there are actually other people around now cause we basically only had each other on the island.

The creek wasn't as far as I thought which was good since I could feel a numbing pain in my legs.

"Aura," I heard Gaara say my name urgently.

Our training was paying off more than I thought. Seeing a flash of what he saw I hid behind a tree as did he. He had seen someone near the water and as I looked out from my hiding spot I saw the person too.

First off I have to say there are not many times I have blushed at the sight of another girl but she was so cute. She had big blue eyes and silky long blonde hair tied back loosely in a ponytail tied with a big red bow. In her hands she held a basket of freshly picked flowers of all kinds and colors. Her dress was simple pale yellow with a white apron with a red rose design on the corner of the apron. All completed with small red slipper shoes on her feet.

She held a lantern and a vase for water as well. She put down the lantern and dipped the vase slowly in the water waiting for it to fill. As soon as she rose the vase out of the water again she started coughing violently, gasping for air. Then dropping her things she fell in the water unmoving.

Without hesitation I ran out to her and picked her out of the water. I didn't know if this was the right move but I couldn't help it. She was wet and unconscious but at least she was still breathing softly.

"She must have passed out from lack of air," Gaara said standing beside me.

"What do we do?" I asked concerned.

Gaara then looked into the dark woods, "It would be possible to track her steps, there might be someone nearby to help her."

I tried to lift the girl up over my back only to struggle a lot with it. Maybe I might have been able to carry her for a while when I was full of energy, but in my tired state I was hardly able to lift her a foot of the ground. Sand started to gather around her and lift her up which made me feel a bit foolish for trying to carry her when he had his sand to do it. I carried her burnt out lantern and basket as we tracked her path back through the woods.

Gaara did the tracking since I had no idea how to do it myself. Of course he was always teaching me, pointing out things to look for when tracking but regrettably I couldn't listen that well to him. My body ached from the trip and I worried about how the girl was doing. Also, I couldn't stop thinking there was something going on with Gaara. On the island we often talked after training. At first we talked because I was explaining all the things I knew, but then we talked about other, more simple things. I suppose I really did most of the talking when it came to likes, dislikes, the weather, but he always had something to say back.

I hung my head slightly. Maybe I had actually bored him.

Gaara then stopped and I was disoriented when pulled from my thoughts but then I looked up and saw a house lit up on the hill.

"Do you think that's where she lives?" I asked.

"I think so," he said then shifted the girl to his arms.

"Stay behind me," he said softly as we walked up to the door and knocked on it.

Rapid foot steps against a hardwood floor were heard on the other side of the door as it swung open to show a distressed blond woman in her forties.

When she laid eyes on the girl in Gaara's arms she practically pulled us in.

"Lay her down here," the woman said motioning to a couch as she hastily went through some bottles on a dresser.

She then went over to the girl and held her head up while drizzling the liquid down her throat. The girl swallowed and let out a small moan then turned her head.

The lady seemed satisfied then looked over at us with suspicion and anger, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

What ever happened to thank you?

"I'm sorry we saw her collapsed in the woods when we were traveling by, we were just trying to help," I said feeling a little angry and scared at her reaction.

The woman sighed and rubbed her temples trying to calm down before she spoke again, "I'm sorry, this isn't your fault. You must be tired, why don't you sit down. Do you need anything to drink."

Her face was lined with worry and exhaustion. She must have been frantic about her daughter but even if a parent is worried about a child it usually isn't to this extent unless there is a reason. Did she find the woods dangerous or was there another reason?

A small sound was heard and as the girl stirred the woman immediately appeared at her side.

"Huh? Mom?" the girl called out softly and opened her eyes that were still not in focus.

"I'm right here dear," the woman said holding the girl's hand.

The girl turned her head to look in the direction of the voice as her eyes came into focus slowly, "Mom, but how-?"

Her mother interrupted her and stroked the girl's hair, "It doesn't matter, you're home and you're alright."

The girl smiled and began to get up but her mother stopped her, "Please don't get up, you need to rest."

"I'm fine mother," the girl said and as she set her eyes on Gaara and I she completely stopped all actions.

"Who are these people?" she asked.

Her mother got that concerned and angrily look back on her face but kept her voice as level as possible, "These people found you and brought you back here."

"Really?" the girl blinked curiously trying to take in as much as possible with her eyes.

Had she never seen other people before?

The girl then smiled widely, "Thank you."

"Um, you're welcome," I said feeling a little awkward.

"Oh, would you like something to drink?" the girl offered getting up too fast but then got dizzy and fell back onto the couch again.

Her mother was right there like glue, "Honey, stop moving, you need to rest."

"But mom, we have guests, shouldn't we offer them something?" the girl questioned.

Her mom had a contourted expression but then gave in, "I'll get them something, you just stay here. Stay _sitting_ here, got it?"

Her daughter nodded as the mother glared at us and spoke more like she was giving orders, "Stay for a while. I will get you something to drink."

As soon as she left the room all the tension left with her. The girl on the couch was smiling so brightly it melted my heart.

"My name is Talia," she said, "I would like to thank you for helping me, I feel like I am such a burden sometimes."

She looked so sad that I just had to cheer her up, "It's nothing really, we were just in the area and I didn't really do anything, he was the one that carried you all the way here."

I looked over at Gaara who seemed to be examining the girl.

"Well thank you too," she smiled at him.

"Talia," he said making both the girl and I stop, "Why are you and your mother living here? There are no other villages nearby and without that medicine you could have been in real danger considering there are no medical facilities nearby."

Talia looked shocked then sad by his words and looked down at that ground, "We moved out here because the village we lived in hated me. They thought they would get my sickness as well so we were banished to these woods."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "But why would they do that? What kind of sickness do you have?"

"The doctors don't know what I have, but my lungs are slowly deteriorating. I suppose the people were just scared when they heard me cough so much," the girl said sadly.

"But can't the doctors do anything about it? Why don't you just go to another town to seek some medical attention?" I asked feeling a little angry at the village she came from.

"We did," the girl smiled sadly, "They said there was nothing they could do. I have medicine that helps, but so far there is no cure. Though we don't really visit the hospitals much anymore. If there's no cure then there isn't much point in visiting."

Staring at her smile I couldn't find words to say anymore. There was no cure. So was she just going to wait and die?

"So you just gave up on finding a cure?" I said a little angrily.

The girl looked away with the smile still on her face, "I haven't given up entirely but I don't want to be a burden to my mother like I was to my dad. The medical bills cost so much that my dad ended up taking out so many loans he couldn't pay and one day . . . he never came home."

I couldn't believe this, "What do you mean? How could-"

"Aura," Gaara interrupted me.

Through the bond I could feel that he wanted me to stop. I had somehow gone too far.

Just then her mother came in with some tea which each one of us took in awkward and tense silence.

I finished it quickly thinking of all the things I was angry about. The villagers, this girl's attitude, the doctors and her mother were all making me irritated. How could they just stop fighting or push troubles aside?

"We should be on our way. Thank you for your hospitality and sorry if we caused any inconvenience," Gaara said as he got up and I did so as well.

"Oh no, I would like to thank you more properly," Talia said getting up while her mother appeared at her side to help if she felt like falling again.

"I'm fine mom," she smiled at her mother who backed off a little.

Talia then turned to us, "I would like to sing you a song, I know it's not much but it's a hobby of mine. It would be nice to have an audience for once."

How could I deny her?

We all sat down once again as Talia prepared herself and began to sing.

There was a place I was alone

In the world that's not so kind

But now I say I have a home

Something I thought I'd never find

We'll be together for tonight

If only my heart will break before the dawn

We'll tamper fate

A promise

That faithful bond

There will be a time to separate

But let's not think of tomorrow

Chronos has desires to sate

For tonight I have time to borrow

We'll be together for tonight

If only my heart will break before the dawn

We'll tamper fate

A promise

That faithful bond

All I could say is it was beautiful. I had never heard anything like it before. How could someone with a lung disease sing like she did? Life can be cruel sometimes, almost too cruel.

We left in silence with a few goodbyes, words of gratitude and with a glance back it was finished.

"I can't believe she would just give up on life like that," I said out loud, "Why would she just do that, I mean isn't there something we can do?"

I looked over at Gaara who didn't look back.

"Not everything can be fixed," he said, "It's not that she gave up but more like she accepted the fact that she was going to die some day and maybe sooner than she thought. People choose to ignore death and are frightened of it, so a girl that is as terminal as her made others scared of her and avoided her. And as hard as it is to accept death it may just be as hard to watch someone you care for die slowly before your eyes. Can you really judge her decision?"

I stopped in my tracks and so did he a few feet in front of me. He really hit the issues one after the other. Was I really that stupid as to not think from another perspective than my own? Still, Gaara must have become very analytical from being a ninja. Noticing small things can be helpful to a mission.

"I guess I can't," I answered quietly.

He turned to me then nodded as we headed back through the trees tops swiftly.

Death is a hard subject to touch. It's hard to think of without wondering if there is a point to life in the first place. It's true that people often avoid it one way or another but the truth is that everything has an end. Though, like beginnings, endings are all different. I was never told I would die soon. How could I even come close to how she felt?

When I think of it, things can end at any time for me or anyone else. Even when someone dies, time doesn't stop. No matter how much you want it to stop, it doesn't. The clock will still keep ticking on, mercilessly, without concern or care. People will keep doing as they always did as if nothing has happened.

If people around me were killed or I killed someone how would I possibly feel about it? What did my life mean? What was the purpose of life in the first place? What was I even doing here? What did this journey mean to save the people of this world if everyone would die eventually. No matter what we do I can't save everyone. Is Talia just a lost case? If life means something then what was the meaning of her life or even mine? What were we doing these things for?

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked as we traveled through the trees.

He must have sensed my inner turmoil.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," I assured.

It's funny that such a simple question could bring me back to reality. Seeing his concern made me remember that there were people that cared about me and there were people I cared for. If I weren't alive in the first place I wouldn't have been able to meet anyone or even ponder my end in the first place. If everything must end I want to enjoy everything while it is here because if the world didn't begin in the first place there would be nothing. There would be no pain, but there would be no joy too. Shadow can't exist without the light. I can't go back so all I can do is go forward.

Temari and Kankuro must be worried about us, we were gone for quite some time after all. I hope they didn't worry too much.

* * *

><p>When traveling through the Land of Hot Water we found no sign Ryuu. Gaara only saw other images of him moving onward on the way to the Land of Stone like us. Was he trying to get there before us? What was he up to? Everything always created more questions.<p>

I knew we were close now. Close to the next element and a step closer to figuring out this mess. Most of the terrain we covered was filled with trees, sloping hills and large rocks rising out of the ground but for a while we were going to travel by some cliffs near the ocean. The waves made a muffled crash below as we moved through some trees growing near the ledge. It was a misty day making it impossible to see far out over the water. The air weighed thick and cold on us as they traveled more silently than normal.

We then stopped suddenly. I figured it was for a rest but when I noticed the tense look on everyone's face I knew something was up.

"What's-" I started only to see Gaara put his hand up for silence.

As I listened into the silence I did pick up something faint. A sound mixed in with the crashing of the waves. Could it be a voice?

Gaara made a gesture to move closer to the cliffs and as we did the sound became more distinct.

"Heeeeeeeelp," the voice called out.

Cautiously I stepped by the cliff to look over. My heart pounded faster in my chest as I felt the dizzy fear of heights that made me catch my breath. Looking down I noticed a small figure on a ledge. How did that person get down there?

"There's a man down there," Temari stated with a little surprise in her voice.

"What should be do?" Kankuro asked Gaara.

"We should help him of course," I blurted out as everyone looked at me.

I guess nobody expected me to suggest it but what else were we going to do? Leave him there?

"We will have to go down and get him," Gaara said looking over the cliff once again.

Temari and Kankuro both turned their attention toward him.

"Can't you use your sand?" I asked.

"The air is too humid. It would be too unreliable for carrying a person," he stated.

"I could use my puppets," Kankuro offered.

"Are you sure you fully recovered enough to use them for something like this?" Temari questioned.

"What? Of course, unless you find me somehow incapable," Kankuro answered defensively, glaring at his sister.

"It was only a question," she retorted with a glare of her own.

"Yeah, yeah, it's only a question," Kankuro with a growing anger, "and I'm sure perfect Temari would be doing much better than me had she been struck by lightning."

She looked taken aback as she raised her voice "I didn't say anything like that!"

"Then what is it Temari? You have to find a way to humiliate everyone around you?" Kankuro snapped.

I really had no idea why this was happening. Why did they suddenly attack each other like this? Was there something I missed?

As the two began to argue more vigorously I realized there was nothing I could do to stop them. The man on the cliff called out again as a wave crashed by where he was. Well, there was something I could do. I stood at the edge as my heart felt like it was in my head. Looking down I accessed the best route.

I felt a hand grab my arm as if to hold me back, "Aura."

I turned to meet Gaara's gaze. His expression was normal but there was something in his eyes. Was he concerned about me?

"I'll be fine," I reassured him.

Truth is I didn't know if I would be fine but right now I felt like I needed to do something. I didn't want to be useless.

He let go slowly with a look of premature regret. It was then I took a deep breath and jumped down.

Temari and Kankuro's fight only seemed like background noise, not even noticing what was going on until I actually jumped off. They both ran to the edge as fast as they could.

"Aura!" Kankuro yelled.

"What was she thinking?!" Temari said out loud scanning below.

"Guys I'm fine," I said hanging on to a kunai I had stuck in the wall.

The only reason the weapon actually stayed in the was with my chakra and I had a hard time concentrating on keeping it there in the first place. I just needed to stay calm. I just had to try to pretend this was like any other training session I had, except for the fact that I might die. No, I had to put that out of my mind and concentrate on the task at hand. Pulling out more kunai I stuck one in the wall below infusing my chakra with it so it would stay.

I continued to do this, keeping my mind only on the task, I didn't even know what was going on above me. When I finally reached the person I timidly touched the ledge with my foot testing the pressure then stood against the wall as the wind blew up from below bringing some salty spray with it. I closed my eyes and turned to the side and when I opened them again I saw the man standing there on the ledge next to me. He looked slightly older with some grey staining his short brown hair. The short beard had some specks of grey as well while the outfit he wore was plain white and brown. He was drenched for the most part, probably because of the ocean spray. His distressed expression reminded me of my purpose.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

He nodded slowly.

"Do you think you can climb?" I questioned pointing toward the kunai ladder I had made.

"I might," he answered.

"Here," I said taking some ties from my clothes and giving him part of it, "tie this to yourself. If you slip this will be enough to catch you and get a better grip without falling."

After he got it secure and another wave crashed up high and I flatted to the wall. The sooner we got out of here the better. I began the ascent when he was ready and tried my best not to get tired out. Not now, I couldn't stop now. I couldn't think of the danger now. I felt a tug and heard a sound. Looking down again in a panic I saw him regain his footing. Beyond him I could see the distance to the sea. A sick pit lodged itself in my throat and made my stomach flutter. Hugging closer to the wall I looked up again. Everyone was watching over the ledge in concern. Almost there, just a little more.

I was just about there and when I was about to reach for the next kunai it slipped and I was about to fall when Gaara caught my hand. What took me more by surprise wasn't the fall but the look of fear I saw on his face. It was fear, definitely fear, or did he only reflect my own fear of falling? No, it was different, I could just tell.

"Give me your other hand," Kankuro commanded.

I shifted my weight suddenly to grab hold of his hand and they both pulled the man and I up over the ledge. I sighed in relief wondering what I was even thinking before I went over that ledge.

The man gasped as well.

"Thank you," he said weakly.

I looked over and smiled softly. As we then composed ourselves and dried off a bit, the questions finally came out.

"So who are you?" Kankuro asked seriously.

Although Kankuro and everyone else was skeptical of him, the man eluded a friendly demeanor.

"Kakan, a hunter," he said showing a bow and few other weapons, "I was chasing a deer when I slipped over the edge."

"Where are you from?" Kankuro questioned further.

"A village named Iso just west of here. Though, I think the bigger question is where are you guys from? Those clothes you have aren't from around here" he asked looking at each of us in turn with curiosity.

"We're from the Land of Lightning, though we were traveling to visit some friends in the Land of Stone," Temari answered.

"I see," Kakan nodded, "So you are just passing through."

He then smiled, "Well I'm glad you were passing by or I might have been stuck there for quite a while or worse."

He then turned to me and quickly but gently held my hands in his, "And thank you so much young miss for helping me, please take this in gratitude."

When his hands left mine all that was left was a small bright red rock. Looking at it I couldn't help but feel an awkward sort of flattery.

"It's a type of ore that used to be found in our village though there is little of it now," he said then shifted his bow into a better position, "Well, I better get going."

When he started to walk off my hand tightened around the rock and I called out, "Wait!"

He stopped and looked back a little surprised.

"If Iso is on the way to the Land of Stone why don't you travel with us for a while," I offered.

I noticed Kankuro and Temari flinch a little at this out of the corner of my eye but I wanted to make sure this person got home safely. Maybe I was being a little out of line but it would be awkward to travel in the same direction and not together.

"I suppose that would be alright," Kakan said but looking at everyone's skeptical faces he added, "If that's alright with everyone."

Kankuro responded after some silence,"It's fine I guess."

Temari only looked pissed and complained under her breath, "We'll have to move slower now."

When I looked over at Gaara he was only analyzing Kakan carefully. There was something intense going on but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Let's move on then," Gaara said walking forward as did the rest of us in an uncomfortable silence.

Later on somehow we spread out into a formation of Temari and Kanuro in the front, Kakan and I in the middle and Gaara tailing behind at a distance. I had ended up talking to Kakan more as we walked. He told me of his family and his village but as I listened I could only feel the gaze of Gaara behind us. I would occasionally glance back to see him watching closely. Was there something bothering him? Maybe if I concentrated hard enough I could sense what was going on. Thinking about the bond we had I tried to feel something, anything. I sighed knowing that I couldn't read his mind but it was worth a try. Glancing back at him again I tried to place what it was. Maybe he seemed on edge, but of what? Looking back at Kakan I knew it had to be him, but for what reason I had no clue.

I was glad the see that Kankuro and Temari seemed to forget their fight. I wonder what made them so frustrated lately. I could only think of a million things, they were brother and sister after all. I suppose I should have expected a real fight eventually, that's the way family is after all. I know my sister and I fought a lot. I sighed and looked up to the sky. It had been a while since I had thought of my family. I wonder what they were doing now? I didn't want to start reminiscing about home but I couldn't help it.

Lost in my thoughts I could see the images of my past in my head except now they were more unclear then they had been before. Was I forgetting home? I couldn't let that happen. I tried to picture home but all the images I could think of were dark and less detailed. Though there was this one memory that stood out. Or was it even a memory?

A rocky cove spread out in my mind. Sharp peaks likes spikes began to rise out of the ground in random directions. In the middle of the spikes one large spike rose then all was still. One small slow crack at a time the rocks fell apart then burst revealing a small boy with short messy brown hair and some shabby grey and brown clothes. His eyes were closed and he fell to the ground harshly unmoving. The scene then faded from my sight and slowly revealing Temari staring at me concerned.

I didn't even realize what had happened, when I had fell to my knees or even they my eyes were open the whole time. I looked around and just caught Gaara getting to his feet again with Kankuro close by him.

Did this mean . . .?

"A new element," Gaara finished my thought.

I got up quickly in a slight panic. The next element was here but I didn't know what this one would bring. Still, what bothered me the most was that this Element was a child. Could he possibly be dangerous as well?

"We have to get there now," Kankuro said urgently.

Kakan looked a bit confused but I was the one who decided to explain, "I'm sorry, but we have to get going now, we'll have to part here. I wish you the best and hope you get back to your village safely."

I turned away and was about to take off when I heard a loud whooshing sound behind me stunning my movement. I turned around slowly to see a familiar sand wall. When it fell an arrow fell with it revealing Kakan with his bow drawn and a stern look upon his face.

My thoughts felt slow. What was going on?

Kakan jumped back from a few more sand attacks. Kankuro and Temari were beside me instantly. Gaara faced Kakan with an aura of intensity.

"I see you're a little confused Wind but let me spell this out for you," he smiled deviously, "I'm the enemy, or at least to you I am."

"What?" I asked breathlessly regaining my composure.

"Still confused? Well let me clear this up: I'm not Kakan, in fact, he doesn't even exist," he said bluntly.

"Enough," I heard Gaara say.

Looking over at him I noticed that he was staring intensely at Kakan. Well, it wasn't Kakan but some sort of . . . enemy?

"Who are you and what is your purpose for deceiving us?" Gaara asked sternly.

"It looks like someone is straight to the point," the man glanced at Gaara with an amused expression.

"I suppose you might remember a woman that took Ryuu away. Well she is one of my associates and we're here to collect the Elements by any means," he explained without lowering his bow.

"I just don't think you will agree with our goal," he continued looking more amusingly at me.

"What do you need the Elements for?" Kankuro asked on edge.

The man laughed under his breath, "When the Elements are brought together they can create a new world, but-," he looked around at all of us in turn before finishing his sentence, "in order to create a new world one must be destroyed first. Some kind of ying yang system or something stupid like that but I suppose you can guess what kind of world would be destroyed."

"This one," Temari stated with a glare.

"Precisely," the man said, "and I'm sure there are people who value this world so I am your enemy."

"Wait," I said, something was missing from his explanation, "Why would you want to create a new world?"

He just shook his head, "I just want to create of world of my design. One built of peace and not chaos. If you want to join my cause then welcome but if you don't then I'm your enemy."

"I like the idea of a peaceful world," I agreed while Temari and Kankuro gave me a worried glance.

Gaara kept his eyes locked on the man.

"But I can't let this one be destroyed," I resolved getting ready to fight him if I needed to.

Our enemy only smiled knowingly, "As I thought."

That's when it began. He suddenly drew an arrow and let it fly only for it to be blocked by sand. Everyone spread out in different directions but the fake Kakan only avoided the attacks from the snaking sand. As he jumped back to avoided the attacks he deflected some of my wind blades as well. At this point I was more in sync when it came to fighting with Gaara than anyone else. Some poison darts flew at him but he disappeared or rather maneuvered so fast that it seemed like he teleported to a new location.

"You know four on one isn't so fair," he said almost amused.

He had only just deflected a few wind blades from Temari when he truly disappeared.

"I suppose I could level the playing field," his voice seemed to echo from all around us.

We looked around but none of us could figure out where it was coming from.

"I know where the next Element has appeared and will be heading there shortly, but on the other hand I have another person I ordered to destroy your village. Sunagakure, is it? I'll leave you with only this, until next time Wind," his voice echoed and faded on the last few words then all was silent.

"What should we do," I asked everyone a little worried.

"We pursue Kankan or whoever he is," Kankuro suggested confidently, "There's no one person that could destroy Suna."

"He's sending Ryuu," Gaara said as we all looked over at him.

"Ryuu?" Temari asked surprised, "But how would-"

"He purposely sent images of his route. He'll arrive in Suna within a few hours," Gaara stated.

"We better get moving then," Kankuro responded with haste.

"No," Gaara stopped him in his tracks, "Aura and I will pursue Ryuu, you and Temari will go after the next Element."

"But why would-?" they were about to object but Gaara only explained further.

"Wind has an advantage over lightning, we'll be able to stop him quickly. I also trust you both can take care of Kakan if need be," he said seriously.

Temari and Kankuro both nodded.

"We'll meet up in Iwagakure," he stated before we all took off.

Speeding through the trees my heart raced like we raced against the clock. Did the enemy mean to split us up or were we suppose to choose. But times passage wasn't the only thing unnerving me. There was something far worse on my mind, the fact that I knew I was the only one that could stop Ryuu. If he really was going to harm Suna then I wouldn't back down. Just you wait Lightning, the Wind is blowing in your direction.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong> The first part of this was written a long time ago and the second part was written recently. Can you tell? Talia was a very short lived character . . . literally. Her character and family are quite complicated. Take for example her father who was killed by debt collectors and the fact that they are living far in the woods to hide, but also they are living there because people in their hometown don't want them near. Her progressive lung disease is something I made up so I'm not sure if there really is a disease that can't be cured like that. I made Talia to show how horrible the costs can be in health care and how ironic and tragic death can be sometimes. I wanted Aura to face a death, one she isn't responsible for and can't do anything about. It's a unique helplessness that a lot of people face when watching someone die. On a lighter note, I'm sorry about the song guys. I'm really not much of a song writer but I hope I did well enough for the poetry part of it. I'm also happy to introduce "Kakan" in this chapter. I always particularly liked his character as one of the bad guys. His analytical, logical way of thinking and light personality make him fun to write. I'm sure you'll find out how fun he can be later on. Though this chapter has a lot of loose end and questions it's because there are a lot of mysteries yet to be solved. The next chapter will have some surprising twists and I hope to see you guys again soon!


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